Marland Yarde tweets apology eight months after arrest by police

Former England international Marland Yarde has issued an apology eight months after his arrest by police which ended his five-year stay at Sale, the Manchester-based Gallagher Premiership club. It was January 12 when the Sharks admitted that media stories alleging that one of its players had been arrested were true.

At the start of an Alex Sanderson media briefing at the time, the Sharks explained they were aware of the speculation surrounding them but because it was a legal matter, they would not be taking any questions on the matter. They eventually issued a media statement following the Sanderson briefing.

It read: “Sale Sharks have been made aware of an allegation against one of its players and the subsequent arrest of that player by Greater Manchester Police on Sunday, January 9, 2022. The player in question has been suspended by Sale Sharks until further notice and is currently cooperating with police officers to assist in their investigation. As this matter is subject to a legal process there will be no further comment at this time.”

The 30-year-old Yarde has now publicly admitted he was the unnamed Sale player caught up in the situation and he has now posted a 173-word message on Twitter apologising for the hurt and distress that he caused. He added that he now hopes to get back to playing rugby.

“In January, as I think it is known by some of the rugby community, I was arrested on suspicion of having committed a very serious offence,” began Yarde. “A necessarily lengthy police investigation followed but I can now confirm that no further action is to be taken against me. I have not been charged with any offence.

“Whilst I never doubted my innocence, I understand that the investigation had to be handled with care and sensitivity for the protection of all involved. Although innocent of the crime alleged against me, I take full responsibility for having put myself in a situation where an allegation could be made against me.

“I am working hard to improve as a person using what the incident has taught and shown me. I want to apologise to all my family and friends for the hurt and distress I have caused them. Their love and support gave me the strength to see a positive future, and I look forward to resuming my career doing what I love which is playing rugby.”

Yarde, who was capped 13 times in his early-to-mid 20s by England, made his Sale debut in November 2017 having originally started the 2017/18 season in the colours of Harlequins, whom he joined in 2014 after initially making the breakthrough into the pro ranks via London Irish.

Before the Sale statement in January admitting that one of their players had been arrested, media speculation as to the identity of the 'unnamed ex-England player' arrested had an unfortunate consequence for Danny Cipriani and his wife as they found themselves doorstepped by the media. It led to Victoria Cipriani taking to social media to ask that they be left alone.

“A load of journalists have turned up outside my home this morning, causing me great alarm and distress, apparently guessing (wrongly) that the story already in some parts of the press about a rugby player and his partner being arrested on suspicion of sexual offences might relate to Danny and myself,” she wrote.

“I presume they are making that wild guess because I am the same age as the woman is reported to be in the stories about that case. That is completely unwarranted and wholly unacceptable. Neither Danny nor myself have been arrested, nor do we have anything to do with the reported case, whatsoever. We do not know anything about it.

“The press have come to the wrong people and I would ask that they please leave us alone, immediately. This is hugely upsetting for so many reasons. Please share and thanks for taking note of this.”