Saracens have confirmed that Chris Ashton was glassed during a night out in London on Saturday.
The England back, who was out with team-mates and their wives and girlfriends, suffered minor cuts to his face in the attack by a stranger.
And Saracens were quick to absolve the 25-year-old of any blame.
"Since arriving at the club, Chris has proved himself an outstanding member of the Saracens family, on and off the field," said the club's chief executive Edward Griffiths.
"It is a reality that well known sports people are provoked by strangers and subsequent events are instantly tweeted.
"People will inevitably see this story and say an England rugby player is in trouble again. For clarity, Chris Ashton is not in trouble at all. On the contrary, he was celebrating an anniversary with his girlfriend and showed admirable restraint."
Comments
rugby_rockstar says...
Drunken saturday nights are an ugly reality in big cities. this is a nasty incident amongst many in any country with a drinking culture. It happens every weekend. Its made the rugby headlines because the victim is a famous rugby player. The world is a dangerous place, but enjoy your life and keep your wits about you.
Posted 10:44 20th September 2012
APV1 says...
Nice to see the England captain taking a sensible stance too:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/19656024
Posted 10:10 20th September 2012
jamesliveinhope says...
@porridge_time - why??
I know that most rugby players are magnets for trouble because the average drunken nutter seems to want to take on the biggest guy in the room (usually comeing of worse in the process) but I presume that your comment was aimed at Ashton as some special case and, to my knowledge, there are no significant events off the field that would suggest that to be correct.
Posted 18:37 18th September 2012
APV1 says...
@ porridge_time - "...the likes of Ashton are a magnet for trouble." What do you mean by that?
Are you agreeing with Ed Griffiths ("...It is a reality that well known sports people are provoked by strangers and subsequent events are instantly tweeted."), or do you know Chris Ashton and, as such, have a greater insight than the rest of us?
I accept that you don't condone the act itself, but your comments suggest otherwise.
Posted 16:06 18th September 2012
heart_of_oak says...
Hellovanite - there's no N in Tuilagi. Winds me up something rotten that does.
Anyway, re Ashton, though I find the guy hard to like, in this instance, he is the victim.
Now lets move on to something more interesting.
Posted 15:08 18th September 2012
porridge_time says...
I'm not condoning the vile cowardly act... but merely highlighting that the likes of Ashton are a magnet for trouble.
Posted 02:06 18th September 2012
NHSaints says...
Anyone putting Ashton as the bad guy in this one is an asshole, no way he should have been glassed, even if he was partially responsible for the fight (which I doubt) the guy has been pretty hard done to with situations like this during his career.
Posted 21:29 17th September 2012
thistle_dave says...
I sat through Saracens v Leicester at Wembley on saturday afternoon. It was quite possibly the worst game of rugby I've ever seen - and certaintly the dullest game that I've spent ages trekking across London to go and watch live at a Godforsaken, half-full football stadium with nothing else nearby. Frankly a bottle over the head would have come as blessed salvation after that.
Posted 14:24 17th September 2012
APV1 says...
@ porridge_time - until I hear otherwise, I'll accept the concept of "Innocent until proven guilty" and this from the Fez Heads:
Saracens statement - Chris Ashton16 Sep 2012 - 12:10
To prevent confusion, the club would like to clarify events surrounding an incident which took place in London on Saturday.
Several Saracens players, together with their wives and girlfriends, were enjoying a quiet evening when an uninvited stranger approached the group. A brief altercation occurred, which resulted in a friend of this stranger attacking Chris Ashton with a glass. The Saracens winger suffered two minor cuts on the left side of his face, but neither required stitches.
Edward Griffiths, CEO, said: ¿Since arriving at the club, Chris has proved himself an outstanding member of the Saracens family, on and off the field. It is a reality that well known sports people are provoked by strangers and subsequent events are instantly tweeted. People will inevitably see this story and say an England rugby player is in trouble again. For clarity, Chris Ashton is not in trouble at all. On the contrary, he was celebrating an anniversary with his girlfriend and showed admirable restraint.¿
So, I say again, stop trolling.
Posted 13:24 17th September 2012
JamieTheProp says...
@ porridge - as someone who has been glassed in a pub, and again from behind with a bottle, I think that the sorts of people who do this are the sorts of people who don't fight fair and are just looking for an excuse!
Idiots and they should be put in prison - as far as I am concerned as soon as you pick up a glass as a weapon and use it it is premeditated - so GBH at the least and murder at the worst!
It is against everything that the rugby community stand for and should be universally condemned! If you're gonna have a fight have a fair one and don't come at someone from behind with a weapon!
Posted 12:51 17th September 2012
hellovanite says...
There will always be piss heads who get tasty goin large on benders and London I'm afraid has more than it's fair share. This happens so much more than it should, thankfully Ashton was not more seriously injured..... I was going to go with a tuilangi gag but it's late and I'm tired...
Posted 12:00 17th September 2012
porridge_time says...
Until the full facts are known... I will assume there is no smoke without fire in the case of Ashton;-)
Sorry to hear of your plight pierredolot1.
Posted 11:39 17th September 2012
APV1 says...
@ porridge_time - stop trolling, it's unnecessary and daft. Thankfully he wasn't badly injured, but it could have been much worse.
God forbid you're ever glassed in a pub and people come along and blame you.
Posted 10:11 17th September 2012
pierredelot1 says...
Well porridge_time what a cynical git you really are. Sadly I can state that I was glassed many years ago. Just for walking home. (No smoke without fire indeed) When you've got 48 stitches in your face and your tongue comes out of your mouth an inch away from where it should be, you don't feel too good after a week in hospital and a face that looks like a pirates worst enemy. Whats worse is I never saw the guy who did it, he came from behind. If they catch people like this they should lock them up for an awful long time. They come from the cowards club these animals.
Posted 09:35 17th September 2012
porridge_time says...
Exactly James... guilty before proven inocent;-)
Posted 08:56 17th September 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
Porridge: we dont know much but the guy glassed him. It takes a special kind of idiot to fight like that. Ashton is a victim here; let's not slur him.
Posted 08:52 17th September 2012
jamesliveinhope says...
@porridge_time - says juror number 5 having slept through most of the hearing and not heard any of the evidence.
Posted 08:11 17th September 2012
porridge_time says...
No smoke without fire!
Posted 00:26 17th September 2012