Rugby star fined £2k after clash with WPC at nightclub
ENGLAND rugby ace Danny Cipriani escaped with a fine yesterday despite injuring a policewoman after a drunken nightclub row.
He was convicted of common assault on a doorman and resisting arrest after spending two nights in the cells over the fracas on a pre-season tour in Jersey.
The 30-year-old was fined just £2,000 after the more serious charge of assaulting a police officer was dropped, despite several injuries suffered by PC Jodie Botterill.
The slight officer, 33, was grabbed by the burly 6ft 1in, 14st player before being pushed to the floor, a court heard.
The PC, a Welsh international footballer, was held by her collar and shirt as she tried to arrest him after a row with the doorman.
Cipriani also pushed her in the chest and to the ground while telling her to ‘get the f*** off me’, leaving bruising and marks to her neck, face and arm, the hearing was told.
The furious Gloucester fly-half was eventually arrested after being restrained by three officers and remanded in custody.
The fine for Cipriani, who is understood to earn around £300,000 a year, was paid within hours of the hearing.
Last night, he issued a grovelling apology but insisted his drunken behaviour while out with teammates was a ‘minor incident’ and that he had misbehaved for only ‘seconds’.
In the statement, Cipriani said he was ‘very sorry’, adding: ‘They [the police] have a tough and vital job and I’m mortified that I acted in a way that I hugely regret.
‘I would also like to put on record the words of the magistrate Sarah Fritz who publicly stated ‘it was a minor incident’.
‘I was initially confused as to why I was being arrested by three officers. This led to me to react in the wrong manner for a matter of seconds, seeking to hold off the officers rather than accepting their decision.
‘It goes without saying, given the words of the magistrate, that I didn’t strike anyone or initiate aggression in any way.’
Gloucester Rugby chief executive Stephen Vaughan admitted the incident was ‘very disappointing to be associated with’ but said the club was standing by Cipriani.
He added: ‘The incident was over in a matter of seconds and was a reaction to the conduct of other parties involved.’
But rugby fans on social media reacted with anger. Dean Scott Fisher said: ‘I find it absolutely ridiculous that one, there’s no jail time and two, he still has a job. If that was any other member of the public, I’m pretty sure they’d lose their job and spend time in jail.’
Martyn Ward said: ‘Danny Cipriani 6’1, 14.4 stone solid muscle and professional rugby player. When a female cop says “stop” you stop.’
Cipriani’s World Cup ambitions hang in the balance after he was recently recalled to the England squad after a hiatus caused by his reputation for bad behaviour.
Cipriani, who appeared from custody looking dishevelled, pleaded guilty to assaulting head doorman Joaquim Perreira and resisting arrest.
He had originally faced the more serious charge of assaulting a police officer, which can carry a sentence of 26 weeks in jail, as well as larceny and being disorderly on licensed premises.
Jersey magistrates’ court also ordered Cipriani to pay PC Botterill £250 compensation for the ‘bruises and discomfort’ she suffered in the incident in the early hours of Wednesday.
The fracas started when Cipriani was stopped trying to leave Little Drift nightclub at the Royal Yacht Hotel in St Helier while carrying two drinks bought from the bar. Prosecutor Sam Morris said he became ‘verbally abusive’.
He also pushed the doorman and then erupted in anger when Mr Perreira activated his body camera and tried to pull it off, the court heard. The doorman then alerted the nearby PC.
Miss Morris said Cipriani resisted PC Botterill’s efforts to arrest him and broke his arms free.
‘He was eventually restrained but still struggled and was taken to the police station.’
Mike Preston, defending, said Cipriani was angry at being filmed but accepts being ‘foolish’. He added: ‘He knows he let himself, his family and his club down.’
‘Ridiculous there’s no jail time’
‘Let himself, family and club down’