Wallaby faces suspended prison sentence for nightclub incident
NEWS: Local prosecutors called for La Rochelle’s Australian back-row forward Lopeti Timani to receive a suspended six-month prison sentence for “violence with a weapon” after an incident at a nightclub in May 2019.
Timani, 29, threw a bottle at two bouncers in the early hours of May 12 last year after he was escorted out of a local nightclub. One suffered a face wound that forced him to miss at least eight days’ work.
The bouncers then reportedly retaliated together, without causing Timani any serious injuries. They were later charged with organised violence.
Prosecutors requested suspended jail sentences of six months and three months for the bouncers respectively.
Tongan-born Timani, who has played 12 times for Australia, apologised for throwing the bottle at Monday’s hearing.
“I didn’t want to hurt someone, I threw it over my shoulder without looking,” Timani said, adding he had deliberately not reacted when he was subsequently attacked. “If I’d fought it would have been the end of my career” at La Rochelle.
A decision on the case is expected on September 14.
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