- Canberra Raiders star and brother in legal battle
- Josh Papali’i charged with crime against police
Raiders prop Josh Papali’i will face court after being charged over a late-night incident at a Canberra league club that also allegedly involved his brother John.
The NRL star, 32, will have to attend the ACT Magistrates Court for allegedly intimidating police and failing to leave licensed premises, ACT Policing revealed on Thursday.
At around 3am on September 16, police were called to an incident involving three men who were “behaving aggressively towards each other and staff, and throwing glasses at each other”.
When the group was asked to leave, Papali’i allegedly verbally abused and threatened police.
The men left after some negotiations, but soon returned.
Asked to leave again, the 32-year-old allegedly attempted to further intimidate police, before the group left the area a short time later.
Papali’i’s brother John, 30, will receive a criminal offense notice for failing to leave licensed premises, Canberra Times reported.
The following night, Josh Papali’i was named club person of the year having played 300 games for the ACT club during the NRL season.
Raiders great Josh Papali’i will have to report to the court after being accused of intimidating police in an alleged 3 a.m. incident at the team’s league club.
The forward has also been accused of failing to leave an authorized premises.
The Raiders issued the following statement shortly after Papali’i’s arrest: ‘The Canberra Raiders are aware of an incident involving Josh Papali’i.
‘Josh and others were asked to leave a licensed premises in the early hours of Monday morning after assistance from ACT Police.
“The club has informed the NRL integrity unit.”
The September incident was not the star’s first run-in with the law.
The striker has played 305 games for the club since making his debut for the team in 2011, and has one year left on his current contract.
He is one of the most respected forwards in the game after amassing 23 appearances for Queensland and 11 caps for Australia during his career.
The 32-year-old NRL veteran (pictured with wife Masepa) had a previous brush with the law.
In 2017, police arrested him under strange circumstances after he called police to tell them he was driving under the influence.
Papalii called triple-0 and reported that he was driving drunk and on the wrong side of the road “to prove a point” after leaving his then teammate and captain Jarrod Croker’s engagement party.
Papali’i was fined $1,000 and disqualified from driving for eight months for the bizarre incident on January 15, in which he exceeded 0.123 on a breathalyser.
In July, Papali’i’s wife Masepa was banned from playing football for 10 years following her involvement in a fight at a women’s match.