Powell remains suspended as probe continues
Andy Powell’s Wasps future remains uncertain as the Aviva Premiership club continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding a London pub brawl that involved their Wales international.
Wasps today lifted a club suspension on Powell’s team-mate, England prop Tim Payne, less than 48 hours after imposing it.
But their probe into a Monday night incident at the Walkabout pub in Shepherds Bush is ongoing, and Powell remains suspended.
Powell said he had been knocked unconscious and required stitches in a head wound after what he claimed was “a bit of banter” with football fans escalated into a fight.
The fact that Powell chose to reveal such information to a national newspaper though is understood to have infuriated senior Wasps management.
In their latest statement on the matter, Wasps said: “London Wasps have concluded an initial investigation into an incident involving Andy Powell and Tim Payne earlier this week, for which both players were suspended from the club.
“Based on the club’s initial findings, Tim Payne’s suspension has now been lifted.
“The investigation involving Andy Powell will continue and the player will remain under suspension until this has concluded.
“Until this investigation has been concluded, the club will make no further comment.”
The Wasps board’s investigation will include studying a copy of CCTV footage from the pub, which should give them a clearer picture of how events unfolded.
Powell, 29, told a national newspaper yesterday: “I was knocked to the ground by a gang who then started to kick and punch me.
“I curled up into a ball and put my hands over my face and temples but couldn’t cover the back of my head.
“I was then hit by a bar stool and lost consciousness after that but I suffered a pretty bad cut. There was blood everywhere.
“I think I lost around two pints of blood in the pub and was taken away in a wheelchair and then taken by ambulance to a hospital where they stitched me up.”
The Metropolitan Police’s violent crimes unit are investigating the incident. No arrests have been made, and Powell has said he does not want to press charges.
Payne, 31, was with Powell in the Walkabout on Monday evening. It would appear Payne might now be available for Wasps’ Premiership clash against Bath at Twickenham on Saturday.
Powell joined Wasps last summer after being released early from his contract with Cardiff Blues. His existing Wasps deal expires in July.
He last played for Wales in their RBS 6 Nations game against England earlier this season and is a World Cup squad contender.
But he is no stranger to controversy. Last year he was kicked out of Wales’ Six Nations squad by coach Warren Gatland after being arrested for taking and driving away a golf buggy following a dramatic victory over Scotland.
Powell was arrested near a motorway junction close to Wales’ training base in the Vale of Glamorgan.
He subsequently pleaded guilty at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court to driving a mechanically-propelled vehicle while being unfit through drink. He received a 15-month driving ban and was also fined.
