Rugby players arrested for breaching virus isolation
Rugby
By
AFP
| Apr 06, 2020
Two Fiji rugby players have been arrested for ignoring the Pacific nation’s coronavirus self-isolation rules, with local authorities saying their “irresponsible behaviour” would be reported to rugby’s world governing body.
The two men have not been publicly identified but the Fiji Rugby Union confirmed they were professionals and media reported them variously to be sevens players and internationals.
The news brought an emotional response from Simon Raiwalui, who works for Fiji Rugby with the title of high-performance general manager.
Fiji are the Olympic sevens champions and were third in the current world series before it was put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.
READ MORE
We need a national developmentalist coalition urgently
Two men, same name, same land: 30yr court battle heads for supreme court
From aid to enterprise: Refugee businesses expand East Africa's economy
Ruto rewards Sawe Sh8m, car for breaking London marathon record
Over 300 people displaced as heavy rains batter Mombasa
New 2030 plan targets billions in financing for farmers and MSMEs
Maina named Vision 2030 acting director
New initiative to increase accessibility to spectacles launched
Kenya's path to first-world status requires civic reform
To get it right, let us start right: How Kenya can best reclaim Vision 2030
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama accused the players of putting “the whole of Fiji at risk”.
He said one player, who arrived from Singapore, “had a high risk of exposure to the virus while overseas” and then escaped from isolation in a Fiji hospital.
“Unlucky for him, he couldn’t step his way past our Fiji police force. He has been arrested and is in isolation at Nadi hospital,” Bainimarama said.
The Fiji Rugby Union would take “appropriate disciplinary actions against the professional rugby players, including reporting this highly irresponsible behaviour to their clubs and World Rugby,” chief executive John O’Connor said.
“The Fiji rugby family wants to put on record our great disappointment at the irresponsible behaviour of these two players putting their families and other Fijians at risk.
“Such irresponsible behaviour is totally unacceptable, and we support the actions of the police in arresting these two players and any further action taken against them.”
Raiwalui echoed the sentiment on Facebook.