Hayes ‘only a witness’ in French police probe

A French lawyer says Marlborough rugby player Dylan Hayes is looking forward to resuming his professional rugby career after Grenoble players were cleared of any involvement following a rape complaint.

Six Grenoble players were questioned by French police following a complaint by a woman after the club’s Top 14 league game in Bordeaux on March 11.

All six were questioned but were released with no charges laid.

Bordeaux prosecutor Marie Madeleine Alliot said Hayes, former Wallaby Peter Kimlin and Ireland’s Chris Farrell were released initIally and France’s Loick Jammes, New Zealander Rory Grice and Ireland’s Denis Coulson several hours later.

Hayes’ father, Colin Hayes, of Blenheim, said his son had not been arrested or charged.

‘‘Dylan was not arrested, he and two others were purely brought in as witnesses to discuss the timeline of the evening’s earlier events,’’ Hayes Sr said.

Arnaud Lucien, the French lawyer acting for Dylan Hayes, said in a statement the 23-year-old flanker’s ‘‘custody was very short’’.

‘‘He was put out of cus- tody almost immediately and came out without any charge. His only desire today is to return to his club and to play rugby.

‘‘We are dealing with a very elegant, very rigorous and very straightforward athlete. He has nothing to do with the facts mentioned,’’ Lucien said.

Hayes said the family was disappointed with how Dylan had been portrayed in the media. His son was ‘‘gutted’’ that his friends and family had seen the initial media reports.

‘‘Unfortunately, the media jumped on it too soon. If they’d just left it for 12 hours, it would have showed there was no involvement on his part,’’ Hayes Sr said.