England and Saracens striker Billy Vunipola has been found guilty of assaulting and wounding a police officer in Mallorca, a Spanish court said on Tuesday (AEST).
Vunipola, 31, appeared in court on Sunday following an incident in which police allegedly fired a Taser at a bar in the island’s capital Palma.
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The court said in a statement that Vunipola injured a police officer who tried to subdue him. He was ordered to pay compensation of 500 euros ($535) to the victim and a fine of 240 euros.
The court said Vunipola was found guilty of “one count of assault and (causing) minor bodily harm”.
English Premier League club Saracens said it would deal with the matter internally.
“I can confirm that I was involved in an unfortunate misunderstanding when leaving a club in Mallorca on Sunday,” Vunipola said on Twitter, formerly known as X. He claimed, “There was no violence or fighting and at no stage did he threaten anyone with bottles or chairs.”
“The Spanish police investigation is now closed,” Vunipola said. “I will return to the UK today. I apologize unreservedly to those involved.”
Mallorca-based Ultima Hora newspaper said Vunipola was tasered twice by police during the incident and that it took eight officers to subdue and handcuff him.
A video was posted on the newspaper’s website showing Vunipola and other men in handcuffs being dragged into court in a police car.
“We will be dealing with this incident internally and will not be commenting further until then,” Saracens said on social media.
Vunipola is expected to leave Saracens at the end of this season and has been linked with a move to French club Montpellier.
He has been capped 75 times for England, making his Test debut against Argentina in 2013. He is currently not in the England national team.
Vunipola came on as a second-half substitute in Saracens’ 15-12 win over Bath on Friday.
The club is not scheduled to play again until May 11.
Saracens are second in the English Premier League and looking to win their sixth league title in the last 10 seasons with two rounds of the regular season remaining before the play-offs.
