Uruguay rugby players accused of smashing up restaurant, injuring employee in Japan

Players helped themselves to unordered booze following World Cup elimination and caused more than four million yen (US$37,000) in damage, owner says.

Last Sunday, Uruguay’s rugby team took on Wales at Kumamoto Stadium. The contest ended in a 35-13 loss for the Uruguayan squad, giving them a 1-3 record in group play and ending their World Cup campaign. Either to drown their sorrows or celebrate the honor of simply having been able to compete in the tournament, two of the Uruguayan players headed out to a restaurant/bar in Kumamoto City, along with approximately a dozen companions with connections to the team, arriving sometime around 1:30 a.m.

According to the restaurant’s management, during their roughly 90-minute stay the group caused considerable damage to the place, busting mirrors and punching a hole in the wall of the men’s bathroom. They also went behind the counter into an employees-only area, the restaurant says, where they helped themselves to the liquor that was being stored there, though some of it ended up not in their mouths, but on the restaurant’s audio equipment that the Uruguayan group spilled their drinks on.

To top the evening off, the group attempted to leave after paying only a portion of their required bill. When an employee tried to physically restrain one of the members of the group who was attempting to leave, the rowdy customer rammed his shoulder into him, causing the employee to go crashing to the floor and injure his lower back.

▼ Video of the incident

Despite the altercation, the Uruguayan team left Japan on October 15, less than 48 hours after their early-morning bender, since the World Cup was over for them. However, in the restaurants’ opinion the team has left behind unfinished business, as they’ve yet to receive an apology or any compensation for the damage to their establishment.

“This was an arrestable offense, and the rugby organization should not have allowed them to leave Japan without making them apologize,” said a lawyer representing the restaurant. “Returning to Uruguay without offering a direct apology shows that they feel no sincere remorse for their actions.” As a result, the restaurant is now planning to file an official criminal complaint against the group, claiming that their rampage caused over four million yen (US$37,000) in damages.

With the World Cup’s eight remaining teams preparing to start the single-elimination knockout stage this weekend, several more squads are about to play their last matches of the tournament, and hopefully they’ll follow the Canadian and Namibian teams’ examples of how to finish their time in Japan on a positive, classy note.

Source: NHK News Web via Otakomu, Jiji, YouTube/ANNnewsCH
Top image: Wikipedia/Ham105
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