Ben Pawlowski
THE England rugby star Billy Vunipola was arrested in Mallorca over the weekend after a ‘violent’ bar brawl during which the 31-year old was tasered twice by local police.
Vunipola, who has won 75 caps for the England men’s national rugby union team, is alleged to have tried to attack customers and security staff in the early hours of Sunday morning at the Epic bar in Palma.
Policia Nacional were called to the incident at 4.30am local time after the Saracens No.8 took off his top and allegedly threatened others with bottles and chairs.
Vunipola, who is 6ft 3in tall and weighs over 20 stone, is reported to have been involved in a physical altercation with police before he was tasered twice and then arrested.
According to local media reports, Vunipola was initially unaffected by the first taser volt.
The Harrow-educated player, who was born in Australia but represents England after qualifying on residency grounds, was taken to nearby Son Espases Hospital where he was sedated and strapped to his bed with several security guards and police officers watching over him.
Vunipola is reported to have since been released on bail pending an ongoing investigation after appearing at a court in the Mallorcan capital on Sunday afternoon.
A spokesperson for the Policia Nacional said: “In the early hours of yesterday morning, at 4.30am, we arrested a 31-year old foreign man on suspicion of a crime of disobedience and assaulting a police officer”.
“The man would not listen to reasons and confronted the rest of the customers, and the security staff were unable to restrain him or remove him from the premises”.
“The man pushed and slapped an officer and a policeman pulled out his electric stun gun and fired”.
“A second projectile was then fired, which did the job, and it was then that the officers jumped on him and proceeded to immobilise him by shackling him, later taking him to Son Espases hospital for assessment and arrest”.
Saracens, the club for whom Vunipola currently plays, said in a statement: “Saracens is aware of an incident involving Billy Vunipola in Majorca”.
“We will of course deal with this incident internally, and will not make any further comment until then”.
Vunipola, 31, was born in Australia to Tongan parents before moving to Wales and England as a child.
His brother, Mako, also plays for Saracens and England.
In 2017, Vunipola was pictured being carried out of a Dublin nightclub after an alcohol-fuelled party.
In 2019, Vunipola and England team-mate Ben Te’o were reprimanded after returning to the team hotel in the early hours after a boozy night out following an embarrassing draw against Scotland in the Six Nations.
The star also provoked controversy that same year after showing support to Izzy Folau, the former Australia rugby union winger who had his contract terminated after publishing an Instagram post which said ‘hell awaits you’ for all ‘homosexuals, drunks and atheists’.
