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San Francisco Police have confirmed that Samoan Sevens player Gordon Langkilde has been arrested following the after-match altercation to occurred inside the tunnel as the players left the pitch.
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He has been charged with aggravated assault and battery causing serious bodily injury while police complete an ongoing investigation.
Three Welsh players were left with injuries with Tom Williams suffering broken facial bones.
An official statement was released by San Francisco police.
“Langkilde, a visiting rugby player (Samoa) is accused of assaulting two players of another visiting rugby team. A 26 year-old, male (Wales) sustained facial injuries and a 21 year-old, male (Wales) suffered broken facial bones. A third victim, a 24 year-old, male (Wales) sustained facial injuries during the incident.
“Langkilde was taken into custody without incident at his San Francisco hotel. While an arrest has been made, this remains an active and ongoing investigation.”
The WRU has responded with their own press release and says no Welsh player is facing punishment.
“Following the match between Wales and Samoa in San Francisco, an incident took place in the stadium tunnel which has led to the Samoa Rugby Union provisionally suspending one of their players. After a medical assessment relating to the incident, Wales’ Tom Williams was ruled out of action.”
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World Rugby advised they were investigating the incident.
“We can confirm a Samoa player has been provisionally suspended from Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 following an initial investigation into an alleged incident in the tunnel area after a match between Samoa and Wales at AT&T Park on Saturday.
“The alleged behaviour is not aligned with the sport’s values and the excellent spirit in which this competition has been played by the 40 participating teams.
“World Rugby has instigated an investigation and the Samoa player will remain provisionally suspended until the final conclusion of that process.”
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