- Canberra Raiders stars and brother in legal battle
- Josh Papali’i charged with trespassing against police
Raiders sponsor Josh Papali’i is due to appear in court after being charged over a late night incident at a Canberra League club that reportedly also involved his brother John.
The 32-year-old NRL star will appear in the ACT Magistrates Court for alleged harassment of police and failing to leave a licensed premises, ACT Policing revealed on Thursday.
At around 3am on September 16, police were called to an incident involving three men ‘behaving aggressively towards each other and staff, and throwing glasses’.
When the group was asked to leave, Papali’i allegedly cursed and threatened police.
The men left after some negotiation, but soon returned.
When asked to leave again, the 32-year-old tried to intimidate police further before the group left the area a short time later.
Papali’i’s brother John, 30, will face criminal charges for failing to leave a licensed premises. Canberra Times reported.
The following evening, Josh Papali’i was named club person of the year after bringing up 300 games for the ACT club during the NRL season.
Raiders great Josh Papali’i will appear in court after being charged with intimidating police in an alleged 3am incident at the team’s league club
The prop forward has also been charged with failing to leave a licensed premises
The Raiders released 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 following the presence of ACT Police.
“The club has informed the NRL integrity unit.”
The September incident wasn’t the star’s first run-in with the law.
The forward has made 305 appearances 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 strikers in the sport, having made 23 appearances for Queensland and 11 appearances for Australia during his career.
The 32-year-old NRL veteran (pictured with wife Masepa) has previously been in trouble with the law
In 2017, he was arrested by police under strange circumstances after calling the police to report that 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 then teammate and captain Jarrod Croker’s engagement party.
Papali’i was fined $1000 and disqualified from driving for eight months over the bizarre incident on January 15 in which he blew 0.123 on a breath test.
In July, Papali’i’s wife Masepa was banned from playing footy for 10 years after being involved in a match at a women’s match.