' Gareth Thomas beaten up on the weekend in Cardiff '

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Gareth Thomas says he was victim of hate crime in Cardiff


SKY SPORTS


18/11/18

Gareth Thomas says he was attacked in Cardiff on Saturday night

Former Wales and British & Irish Lions captain Gareth Thomas says he was the victim of a hate crime in his home city of Cardiff on Saturday night.

The 44-year-old posted a video on Twitter, in which he appears with cuts and bruises on his face and head.

Thomas, who revealed that he is gay in 2009, says he was attacked because of his sexuality.

In the video, he thanked the police for allowing him to carry out "restorative justice" on his attackers, and the people of Cardiff for supporting him.

Gareth Thomas played in 100 Tests for Wales and three for the Lions

In what he said he hoped would be a "positive message", Thomas said: "Last night I was the victim in my home city of a hate crime for my sexuality.

"I want to say thank you to the police who were involved and were very helpful and allowed me to do restorative justice with the people who did this because I thought they could learn more that way than any other.

"Also to the people of Cardiff, who supported me and helped me because there's a lot of people out there who want to hurt us, but unfortunately for them there's a lot more that want to help us heal.

"So this I hope will be a positive message."

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Teenage boy admits assaulting Wales rugby legend Gareth Thomas in hate crime
Gareth Thomas spoke out about the incident on social media

By Katie-Ann Gupwell


SUNDAY 18TH NOV 2018



GARETH THOMAS ATTACKED IN CARDIFF OVER HIS SEXUALITY

Police have confirmed a 16-year-old boy has been dealt with after former Wales captain Gareth Thomas revealed he was the victim of a homophobic attack in Cardiff on Saturday.

Thomas, who appeared visibly shaken in footage he shared on social media, said he wanted to spread a "positive message" after being exposed to the hate crime due to his sexuality.


He said: "Why I want it to be positive because I want to say thank you to the police who were involved and have allowed me to do restorative justice with the people who did this because I thought they could learn more this way than any other way."

The rugby world has since rallied around the rugby player also known as Alfie, with a number of high-profile figures posting messages of support.

South Wales Police has now confirmed that a local 16-year-old boy has been dealt with "by way of restorative justice" after the incident, which happened at around 9pm on The Hayes on Saturday. It followed Wales' thumping of Tonga with a 10-try thriller.

Police said the teen admitted assault and was apologetic for his actions, while restorative justice was at the request of Mr Thomas.

Restorative justice brings those harmed by crime or conflict and those responsible for the harm into communication, enabling everyone affected by a particular incident to enter a dialogue.

The heartwarming response from the rugby world and beyond to Gareth Thomas' homophobic attack
The full statement from South Wales Police

"We aware that a video has been posted on social media by former rugby international Gareth Thomas in relation to a hate crime which happened on The Hayes in Cardiff city centre on Friday November 16.

"We can confirm a local 16-year-old boy was dealt with by way of Restorative justice following the incident at around 9pm.

"Restorative justice was at the request of Mr Thomas and accepted by the teenager who admitted assault and was apologetic for his actions.

"Restorative justice is about putting victim needs at the centre of the criminal justice system, finding positive solutions to crime and encouraging young people to be accountable for the consequences of their actions.

"A hate crime is any crime motivated by hostility on the grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity.

"Hate crime has no place in society and has always been a priority for South Wales Police.

"We encourage people, whether they are a victim or a witness of hate crime, to report it directly to South Wales Police : Heddlu De Cymru South Wales Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency."









Wales rugby legend Gareth Thomas speaks of homophobic attack in Cardiff

Thomas' message

In a video he posted to Twitter, Thomas - who won 100 caps for his country - said: "This morning [Sunday] I decided to make what I hope will be a positive video.

"Last night I was the victim in my home city of a hate crime for my sexuality.

"Why I want it to be positive because I want to say thank you to the police who were involved and have allowed me to do restorative justice with the people who did this because I thought they could learn more this way than any other way.

"And also to the people of Cardiff who supported me helped me because there's a lot of people out there who want to hurt us.

"But unfortunately for them, there's a lot more that want to help us heal.

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Disgraceful who ever did that to him I've got totall respect for him

Can’t stand the egg but can’t help but admire Gareth, he seems a really switched on happy go lucky fella and wish him a speedy recovery.

As for the lout who did this let’s hope he’s learnt his lesson

Hang on a minute. What sort of "restorative justice " are we talking about here ?
What can possibly amount to justice in these circumstances . I hope they're not saying they let him beat a 16 year old kid up or anything approaching that. A professional sportsman is attacked and beaten up by a 16 year old kid ?
I wonder what actually happened and whether there's another side to the story - which is why matters like this should be aired in Court.
I really don't like the sound of this you know ,

Hang on a minute. What sort of "restorative justice " are we talking about here ?
What can possibly amount to justice in these circumstances . I hope they're not saying they let him beat a 16 year old kid up or anything approaching that. A professional sportsman is attacked and beaten up by a 16 year old kid ?
I wonder what actually happened and whether there's another side to the story - which is why matters like this should be aired in Court.
I really don't like the sound of this you know ,

The 16 year old would have had to meet Alfie face to face and apologise then be told why what he did is not on.
Quick and easy justice without the need for the courts.

Quite shocked by this needless assault and because he looked such a powerful rugby guy so was even more shocked to find it was a young kid that assaulted him i would have thought that if anybody had tried to attack him he would have lifted them 10 feet high and hurled them through the air.

Disgraceful who ever did that to him I've got totall respect for him

a 16 year old..?
which makes zero sense to me.

I don't understand it either. What a bell end that kid must be. He might be only 16 and we would expect Gareth to be able to stand up for himself but we don't know circumstances. The 16 yr old could of been a huge 6" 6 lad and Gareth may have been drinking or attacked suddenly. He must be able to defend himself but he also is in the public eye and has to set a standard. These type of actions are sickening tho. We are with you gareth

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Hang on a minute. What sort of "restorative justice " are we talking about here ?
What can possibly amount to justice in these circumstances . I hope they're not saying they let him beat a 16 year old kid up or anything approaching that. A professional sportsman is attacked and beaten up by a 16 year old kid ?
I wonder what actually happened and whether there's another side to the story - which is why matters like this should be aired in Court.
I really don't like the sound of this you know ,

The 16 year old would have had to meet Alfie face to face and apologise then be told why what he did is not on.
Quick and easy justice without the need for the courts.

Oh I really don't know about this at all. There's a very good reason why we have Courts.
The idea of allowing a police officer to dispose of cases is quite worrying in fact.

Either way this case sounds unsatisfactory . Was a young kid bullied into an admission without legal advise then either physically or otherwise intimidated by the other party without due investigation ? On the other hand, did some dangerous little yob get away with an assault by just saying sorry ?

No, no , no. Justice must be open to public scrutiny and due process. The public have a legitimate interest in seeing due process followed and it is hard to imagine how a proper outcome can be achieved on the spot, without legally qualified supervision and without open accountability .

Now, I'm not for one moment saying that the police shouldn't have the discretion to conclude minor incidents without proceedings and simply issuing " words of advice" to the parties . Indeed , there is a tendency to prosecute all sorts of nonsense these days , which I deplore. However, if we're going to publicly announce that this man has been assaulted , and thus implicitly state that the other party is a criminal , then the only way of doing that is by putting the evidence to a Court.

I would be interested , ( and shall find out), whether such disposals are considered to be recordable , or can be quoted as convictions, ( as police cautions can). If so , then something needs to be done about that.

As I said earlier, I have a most uneasy feeling about this case as it has been reported here.

Incidentally , Gaynor, this description of quick and easy justice without the need for Courts could equally be applied to the lynching of a black man in Alabama in the early sixties.

Hang on a minute. What sort of "restorative justice " are we talking about here ?
What can possibly amount to justice in these circumstances . I hope they're not saying they let him beat a 16 year old kid up or anything approaching that. A professional sportsman is attacked and beaten up by a 16 year old kid ?
I wonder what actually happened and whether there's another side to the story - which is why matters like this should be aired in Court.
I really don't like the sound of this you know ,

The 16 year old would have had to meet Alfie face to face and apologise then be told why what he did is not on.
Quick and easy justice without the need for the courts.

Oh I really don't know about this at all. There's a very good reason why we have Courts.
The idea of allowing a police officer to dispose of cases is quite worrying in fact.

Either way this case sounds unsatisfactory . Was a young kid bullied into an admission without legal advise then either physically or otherwise intimidated by the other party without due investigation ? On the other hand, did some dangerous little yob get away with an assault by just saying sorry ?

No, no , no. Justice must be open to public scrutiny and due process. The public have a legitimate interest in seeing due process followed and it is hard to imagine how a proper outcome can be achieved on the spot, without legally qualified supervision and without open accountability .

Now, I'm not for one moment saying that the police shouldn't have the discretion to conclude minor incidents without proceedings and simply issuing " words of advice" to the parties . Indeed , there is a tendency to prosecute all sorts of nonsense these days , which I deplore. However, if we're going to publicly announce that this man has been assaulted , and thus implicitly state that the other party is a criminal , then the only way of doing that is by putting the evidence to a Court.

I would be interested , ( and shall find out), whether such disposals are considered to be recordable , or can be quoted as convictions, ( as police cautions can). If so , then something needs to be done about that.

As I said earlier, I have a most uneasy feeling about this case as it has been reported here.

yep...and your just the man to do something about it.
your probably a bit miffed they kept you out of the loop as well.

For restorative justice to take place both parties have to agree. If the victim
does not want to pursue any formal allegation then it can be a way of disposing of a crime depending on the person responsible’s previous convictions. If the 16 year old denied everything and Gareth Thomas wished to pursue the matter it may well have ended up in court but Thomas appears satisfied with the outcome. Because of the 16 year old’s age he would have had his parents/guardians present at the restorative meeting or they would have been informed later.

Gareth Thomas is a big bloke.

Any 16 year old stupid enough to throw a punch at him is destined to be prison fodder sooner or later, hopefully he will learn from this and change his ways.

Gareth Thomas is a big bloke.

Any 16 year old stupid enough to throw a punch at him is destined to be prison fodder sooner or later, hopefully he will learn from this and change his ways.

uh

Hang on a minute. What sort of "restorative justice " are we talking about here ?
What can possibly amount to justice in these circumstances . I hope they're not saying they let him beat a 16 year old kid up or anything approaching that. A professional sportsman is attacked and beaten up by a 16 year old kid ?
I wonder what actually happened and whether there's another side to the story - which is why matters like this should be aired in Court.
I really don't like the sound of this you know ,

The 16 year old would have had to meet Alfie face to face and apologise then be told why what he did is not on.
Quick and easy justice without the need for the courts.

Oh I really don't know about this at all. There's a very good reason why we have Courts.
The idea of allowing a police officer to dispose of cases is quite worrying in fact.

Either way this case sounds unsatisfactory . Was a young kid bullied into an admission without legal advise then either physically or otherwise intimidated by the other party without due investigation ? On the other hand, did some dangerous little yob get away with an assault by just saying sorry ?

No, no , no. Justice must be open to public scrutiny and due process. The public have a legitimate interest in seeing due process followed and it is hard to imagine how a proper outcome can be achieved on the spot, without legally qualified supervision and without open accountability .

Now, I'm not for one moment saying that the police shouldn't have the discretion to conclude minor incidents without proceedings and simply issuing " words of advice" to the parties . Indeed , there is a tendency to prosecute all sorts of nonsense these days , which I deplore. However, if we're going to publicly announce that this man has been assaulted , and thus implicitly state that the other party is a criminal , then the only way of doing that is by putting the evidence to a Court.

I would be interested , ( and shall find out), whether such disposals are considered to be recordable , or can be quoted as convictions, ( as police cautions can). If so , then something needs to be done about that.

As I said earlier, I have a most uneasy feeling about this case as it has been reported here.

Restorative justice has been very successful in helping young people in behaviour change. It keeps the costs down and the young offender will not only need to meet a few times with Gareth but also attend some counselling.

It saves money and helps youngsters change their attitude

I say kudos to Gareth for choosing this course of action

Of course I agree that in many cases this wouldn’t be appropriate but from what I know about Gareth is he is a kind man and will see this as an opportunity to help the kid

Top bloke. Doing the right thing, better to talk to the lad and try and change his views rather that take him to court and then have him do the same thing in the future.
Total respect for Gareth, had his demons in the past but in a better place now. Doesn't need this!

Hang on a minute. What sort of "restorative justice " are we talking about here ?
What can possibly amount to justice in these circumstances . I hope they're not saying they let him beat a 16 year old kid up or anything approaching that. A professional sportsman is attacked and beaten up by a 16 year old kid ?
I wonder what actually happened and whether there's another side to the story - which is why matters like this should be aired in Court.
I really don't like the sound of this you know ,

The 16 year old would have had to meet Alfie face to face and apologise then be told why what he did is not on.
Quick and easy justice without the need for the courts.

Oh I really don't know about this at all. There's a very good reason why we have Courts.
The idea of allowing a police officer to dispose of cases is quite worrying in fact.

Either way this case sounds unsatisfactory . Was a young kid bullied into an admission without legal advise then either physically or otherwise intimidated by the other party without due investigation ? On the other hand, did some dangerous little yob get away with an assault by just saying sorry ?

No, no , no. Justice must be open to public scrutiny and due process. The public have a legitimate interest in seeing due process followed and it is hard to imagine how a proper outcome can be achieved on the spot, without legally qualified supervision and without open accountability .

Now, I'm not for one moment saying that the police shouldn't have the discretion to conclude minor incidents without proceedings and simply issuing " words of advice" to the parties . Indeed , there is a tendency to prosecute all sorts of nonsense these days , which I deplore. However, if we're going to publicly announce that this man has been assaulted , and thus implicitly state that the other party is a criminal , then the only way of doing that is by putting the evidence to a Court.

I would be interested , ( and shall find out), whether such disposals are considered to be recordable , or can be quoted as convictions, ( as police cautions can). If so , then something needs to be done about that.

As I said earlier, I have a most uneasy feeling about this case as it has been reported here.

yep...and your just the man to do something about it.
your probably a bit miffed they kept you out of the loop as well.

It's a pity you've decided to lock on to me with your trolling, for your own sake really. It won't effect me, but it's not good for you psychologically.
You do seem to find it unimaginable that anyone might be in a position to speak to 'influencial' people or have their views taken seriously by those who are in a position to act in matters of public policy. Perhaps you don't like that possibility because you think it somehow devalues you ? It doesn't in fact - you have and have had exactly the same opportunities as me or anyone else to make your mark , and you have, no doubt, made your own choices where to pitch your ambitions and how much effort to put in to achieving them.
What you have done during this process of life and your reputation in matters of competence and honour will determine how seriously your views are taken, and that is in your own hands.

Similarly, you may rest assured that I've generally been " in the loop" about somewhat more important matters than a minor punch up in Cardiff, and in the particular matter of criminal cases I have dealt with hundreds if not more, including very serious ones.

The reason why I even bother to address you on this is that you appear to me to be the type of chap who smothers ambition and confidence in those less able to stand up to you than I am.
I therefore say to any observers who may be young and not yet established that you must ignore this sort of attitude ,which you will encounter whenever you are seen to be doing well or progressing . They are simply scared that your success will expose their own mediocrity , and will therefore try to extinguish your bright light in case you surpass them. If you're not careful they'll knock you off course but you must understand what they are and not allow them to drag you back into line .

All the best Alfie. , City loves you more than you may know. I bet that mug didn't look pretty after Alfie had dealt with him.

Hang on a minute. What sort of "restorative justice " are we talking about here ?
What can possibly amount to justice in these circumstances . I hope they're not saying they let him beat a 16 year old kid up or anything approaching that. A professional sportsman is attacked and beaten up by a 16 year old kid ?
I wonder what actually happened and whether there's another side to the story - which is why matters like this should be aired in Court.
I really don't like the sound of this you know ,

The 16 year old would have had to meet Alfie face to face and apologise then be told why what he did is not on.
Quick and easy justice without the need for the courts.

Oh I really don't know about this at all. There's a very good reason why we have Courts.
The idea of allowing a police officer to dispose of cases is quite worrying in fact.

Either way this case sounds unsatisfactory . Was a young kid bullied into an admission without legal advise then either physically or otherwise intimidated by the other party without due investigation ? On the other hand, did some dangerous little yob get away with an assault by just saying sorry ?

No, no , no. Justice must be open to public scrutiny and due process. The public have a legitimate interest in seeing due process followed and it is hard to imagine how a proper outcome can be achieved on the spot, without legally qualified supervision and without open accountability .

Now, I'm not for one moment saying that the police shouldn't have the discretion to conclude minor incidents without proceedings and simply issuing " words of advice" to the parties . Indeed , there is a tendency to prosecute all sorts of nonsense these days , which I deplore. However, if we're going to publicly announce that this man has been assaulted , and thus implicitly state that the other party is a criminal , then the only way of doing that is by putting the evidence to a Court.

I would be interested , ( and shall find out), whether such disposals are considered to be recordable , or can be quoted as convictions, ( as police cautions can). If so , then something needs to be done about that.

As I said earlier, I have a most uneasy feeling about this case as it has been reported here.

yep...and your just the man to do something about it.
your probably a bit miffed they kept you out of the loop as well.

It's a pity you've decided to lock on to me with your trolling, for your own sake really. It won't effect me, but it's not good for you psychologically.
You do seem to find it unimaginable that anyone might be in a position to speak to 'influencial' people or have their views taken seriously by those who are in a position to act in matters of public policy. Perhaps you don't like that possibility because you think it somehow devalues you ? It doesn't in fact - you have and have had exactly the same opportunities as me or anyone else to make your mark , and you have, no doubt, made your own choices where to pitch your ambitions and how much effort to put in to achieving them.
What you have done during this process of life and your reputation in matters of competence and honour will determine how seriously your views are taken, and that is in your own hands.

Similarly, you may rest assured that I've generally been " in the loop" about somewhat more important matters than a minor punch up in Cardiff, and in the particular matter of criminal cases I have dealt with hundreds if not more, including very serious ones.

The reason why I even bother to address you on this is that you appear to me to be the type of chap who smothers ambition and confidence in those less able to stand up to you than I am.
I therefore say to any observers who may be young and not yet established that you must ignore this sort of attitude ,which you will encounter whenever you are seen to be doing well or progressing . They are simply scared that your success will expose their own mediocrity , and will therefore try to extinguish your bright light in case you surpass them. If you're not careful they'll knock you off course but you must understand what they are and not allow them to drag you back into line .

lol

In the mid 1990's I worked in Cardiff along with my wife.We used to park our car near St Davids Hospital. After work upon returning to the car I could see a man half in the car.My wife was 5 months pregnant and became distressed.I told her to ring the old bill.I ran got hold of the guy and rammed his face into the floor of the car where I held him down.He was screaming what he was going to do to me , cut me blah blah.I gave him a couple I could not help myself.Old bill arrive he is nicked, he had a stanley knife in his jacket pocket. Two weeks late I get a call from Cardiff Central Police.Inspector whatever asked would I be OK to have a face to face with the 16 year old and his father !! I told the cop what he could do with this bollocks and asked him whether the scumbag would be charged he would not give me an actual answer ?? At this juncture I put the phone down.Commit the crime do the time especially with scum who wonder around tooled up.