England rugby ace laughs as he is tasered
Billy Vunipola arrested after drunken ‘altercation’
SHIRTLESS England rugby union ace Billy Vunipola laughs as the police try to taser him in a Majorca nightspot.
The 20st, 6ft 2in forward allegedly taunted and slapped officers when they were called to the Epic club in Palma by concerned staff.
He was eventually arrested after police fired two Tasers. The first hit Vunipola’s wallet, which made the blast ineffective, but the second brought him to the ground.
Vunipola, who plays for Gallagher Premiership side Saracens, issued a statement confirming his arrest but denied being violent.
He was taken to hospital and sedated before a judge gave him a €240 fine. The 31-year-old said: “I was involved in an unfortunate misunderstanding. I apologise for any inconvenience to all involved.”
Bar owner Toni Rocha said Vunipola turned up at the venue
STAR PLAYER at around 3am with a friend. He said: “The friend was fine but Billy started becoming a problem as he became drunker. I had to ask him to put his top on at one point.
“He was annoying other customers by pushing them, not in a violent way, but bothering them.
“I’d already got the doormen involved to try to get him to leave.
“The situation was becoming very tense. I warned his friend I was going to call police and he said: ‘Do what you have to do’.
“But when police appeared, he became worse. I heard him saying ‘f***ing cops’.”
Toni’s business partner Janek Krause claimed: “He laughed after the first Taser shot and only went down after the second.”
Police did not name Vunipola but said they were called to the bar to deal with a man “causing altercations”.
They added: “The man pushed and slapped an officer.” Vunipola was born in Australia to Tongan parents and moved to the UK as a child. He first played for England in 2013.