Cape Town - Springbok Rugby World Cup-star Francois “Faf” de Klerk has been accused of threatening to use a panga to hack a Stellenbosch police captain to death and for hurling racial slurs.
This is despite the player claiming to have been more than 14 000km away at the time of the alleged incident, which is said to have occurred on December 8 at around 1pm in Stellenbosch.
De Klerk has vehemently denied the claims made by police captain Lesley Smith and maintains that he was in Japan at the time of the so-called “life-threatening” brawl.
But Smith stands by his allegation and claimed that it's not a case of “mistaken identity” and that he slapped the “Springbok scrum-half” with charges, as he “clearly” saw De Klerk drive off in a ramshackle Toyota Corolla, while he allegedly called him a “h*****” minutes after he “tried to kill me with a panga”.
Smith also alleged that De Klerk told him “I will f***** kill you”.
De Klerk, 31, who captured hearts for his shoulder-length blonde hair, through his agent, rebutted the claims, stating that he does not even drive a Toyota Corolla.
“Faf has never driven a Toyota Corolla in his life,” maintained his agent Lean Schwartz, adding De Klerk has been out of the country for two months now.
“He left the country with the Springboks for their end of year tour to Europe, where after he left London for Tokyo, Japan to join his new club, Yokohama Cannon Eagles,” he said.
Footage of De Klerk with fellow club members during practice sessions in Tokyo is all over the internet, with date stamps ranging from the end of November up until early this month.
Schwartz said that “30 minutes” after finding out he was accused of trying to murder a police man, De Klerk submitted evidence to prove that the allegations were untrue, including copies of his passport and visa to the police investigating officer.
Weekend Argus obtained copies thereof, including De Klerk’s full itinerary. The itinerary shows De Klerk left London on November 27 just before 2pm for Dubai. After seven hours he landed at 12.40am on Monday, November 28.
Two hours later at 2.55am, De Klerk left Dubai International Airport for Tokyo, Japan. He arrived at 5.20pm the same day. The stamps in his visa correlates with the flight details.
De Klerk hasn’t left Japan since. The metadata of a picture De Klerk took of his visa also showed that it was taken on December 8 in Inagi, Wakabadai, the date Smith claimed he was almost murdered.
Despite this evidence, Smith said he had not withdrawn the attempted murder charges against De Klerk.
Western Cape police confirmed that the investigating officer in the matter was following up on “available leads to prepare and present the case docket to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for a decision”.
“Stellenbosch police registered an attempted murder for further investigation. We can confirm that no one has yet been arrested.”
SAPS spokesperson André Traut, a day later told Weekend Argus the incident related to a male person who threatened and insulted another after an altercation in Stellenbosch.
“During (our) investigation, SAPS (has) not named any individual publicly ... the investigating officer pursued information made available to him, in an attempt to bring to book the person responsible for the incident. This entailed a process to eliminate possible suspects,” he said.
Director of SA Rugby and former Springbok coach, Rassie Erasmus told Weekend Argus it was not uncommon for such allegations to surface.
“I can tell you we receive various allegations (and) stories that we don’t really react anymore, seeing that the players’ personal life is their own,” he said.
In an official response, SA Rugby was quick to defend De Klerk, saying “public figures, such as rugby players, are easy targets for those who wish to garner attention for their own spurious and possibly pecuniary reasons.”
Spokesperson Andy Colquhoun added that it’s “very tempting” for the media and public-at-large to be “seduced by such damaging claims.”
“We have little defence other than to trust in the editorial judgement and well-placed cynicism of journalists to protect athletes and other celebrities from the malicious or down-right criminal claims that are made,” he said.
President of SA Rugby, Mark Alexander also weighed in, saying he hoped “that guy (the complainant) have a lot of money,” refusing to answer any further questions.
Legal expert Ulrich Roux said that if De Klerk showed that he suffered reputational harm, he could institute a civil action against the complainant for defaming him.
“He would have to show evidence of the harm though, and I don’t expect him to take any further action in that regard ... it’s a made out case that he is going to be cleared.”
The national rugby team is no stranger to controversy when it comes to the players and their personal scandals.
Fly-half Elton Jantjies, last year, was embroiled in drama both on and off the field when he got involved in an alleged cheating scandal with Bok team dietitian Zeenat Simjee.
In November, according to media reports, the ex-Lions player admitted to the allegation, saying he was involved with Simjee for several months.
Former Springbok, Derick Hougaard also made headlines last year after a set of twins accused him of “hiring” the duo for sex.
However, the sisters later admitted that it was a hoax as they were allegedly hired by a third party “to spread the lies”.
Weekend Argus