Sigh these down under yobs just cant stay out of the news!
okyo - Japanese club Suntory Sungoliath on Thursday sacked former Wallaby great George Smith following his arrest over the alleged assault of a taxi driver.
The 37-year-old loose forward was arrested in Tokyo on New Year's Eve after he allegedly refused to pay his taxi fare and then punched the driver.
Smith was also suspected of running away from the taxi without paying roughly 10 000 yen ($90) for the fare, according to Tokyo Metropolitan Police.
He was released after 18 days in police custody after prosecutors decided against pressing charges.
Smith denied the allegations. (Which alas is usually par for the course with down under yobs!)
Nevertheless, the Japanese club said it treated the matter as a grave concern and expressed "heart-felt" apologies for the trouble caused.
"No indictment was made as a criminal case, but the company takes this incident seriously and decided to discontinue our contract with George Smith as of the end of January and make him leave the club while strictly reprimanding his supervisor," the club said in a statement.
Suntory said it would also take "thorough measures" to educate players to ensure such an incident does not occur again.(ONLY SOLUTION IS DONT EMPLOY DOWN UNDER YOBS!!!!)
Smith won 111 caps for his country and twice won the prestigious John Eales Medal for best Australian rugby player.
Poor old George is in hot water with the Reds:
George Smith has been fined and ordered to apologise to the Reds for failing to tell the Queensland Rugby Union of his arrest and detention in Japan on New Years Eve.
Smith spent 18 days in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of evading a taxi fare and assaulting a taxi driver on Tokyo's western outskirts about 1am on December 31.
It is understood a contrite Smith fronted the QRU board on Monday and sought to explain why he had not made contact during his stint in detention. (NO CROCODILE TEARS GEORGE YOU KNOW VERY WELL YOU WILL BE MISBEHAVING AGAIN WITHIN A WEEK!!! MAN OLD GEORGE S OUNDS A HECK OF A LOT LIKE A KIWI!))
The saga meant Smith missed more than a week of formal duties with the Reds and left the club red faced and scratching for details when news of his arrest broke in a Japanese newspaper, 17 days after the event.
Despite the fact he was released without charge, Fairfax Media understands Smith accepted a QRU fine over the matter and was directed to apologise to Reds staff and squad members. He started back with the Super Rugby side today.
The 37-year-old is on a rehab program after undergoing back surgery in December. He had not played with Top League side Suntory Sungoliath since October, when he picked up the injury.