England rugby player Billy Vunipola arrested and fined after nightclub incident on Spain island
England's Billy Vunipola during the Rugby World Cup Pool D match between England and Chile at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. English rugby club Saracens is looking into an incident involving England international Billy Vunipola in Majorca. It follows reports he was arrested after officers used a Taser to subdue him. The incident reportedly took place in the early hours of Sunday, April 28, 2024 in a pub in Palma. Credit: AP/Themba Hadebe
England rugby international Billy Vunipola was arrested and fined after an incident at a nightclub in the Spanish island of Mallorca in which police officers reportedly used a Taser to subdue him.
English club Saracens released a statement on behalf of the 31-year-old Vunipola on X, formerly Twitter, in which he said he got involved in an “unfortunate misunderstanding” that “got out of hand” as he left a night spot in Palma in the early hours of Sunday.
Vunipola said he was charged with “resisting the law” and paid a fine of 240 euros following what he described as an “express trial.”
“The Spanish police investigation is now closed,” Vunipola said, “and I am flying back to the UK today.”
Saracens, where Vunipola has played his club rugby since 2013, said in a statement it was aware of an incident involving Vunipola and would deal with it “internally.”
“I will obviously cooperate with the Saracens internal process,” Vunipola said, “and unreservedly apologize for any inconvenience to all involved.”
A video on the website of Spanish newspaper Ultima Hora showed Vunipola being led out of a police van and into a courtroom. The newspaper said that happened on Sunday, after Vunipola had recovered in a medical center.
In his statement, Vunipola denied being involved in any violence and said he “did not threaten anybody at any stage, with bottles or chairs or anything else.”
He didn't comment on the reports that police used a Taser on him.
Vunipola, who plays at No. 8, has represented England since 2013 and played at the Rugby World Cup in 2015, ‘19 and ’23. He was not part of the team's squads for the Six Nations tournament across February and March.
He was a second-half substitute for Saracens in their 15-12 victory against Bath in the English league on Friday. Saracens are not scheduled to play again until May 11.
