Vinaya Habosi made his Fiji debut in 2022

Nanterre (France) (AFP) - Racing 92’s Fiji winger Vinaya Habosi has been ordered to attend a domestic violence course after being arrested, a public prosecutor’s office near Paris said on Tuesday.

Habosi was held on Sunday then 24 hours later released by police, who had intervened at his home after an argument between him and his wife, in the presence of their baby.

Witnesses to the altercation claim 24-year-old Habosi pushed and hit his wife, which the victim confirmed to the police at the time.

Habosi showed “signs of drunkenness” at the time of the incident, according to a police source.

Public prosecutors in the western suburb of Nanterre told AFP Habosi had been ordered to attend a course regarding “awareness for the prevention of and the battle against violence between couples and of a sexist nature, in the framework of an alternative to legal proceedings”.

They added that legal proceedings could be pursued should Habosi fail to respect the order.

Habosi came off the bench to play 10 minutes as a replacement in Racing’s win over Clermont in the French Top 14 on Saturday.

The Parisians head to Bordeaux-Begles in the third round of the Top 14 season on Saturday.

“The club put out a statement and we’re still investigating the facts,” Racing 92 head coach Stuart Lancaster told reporters later on Tuesday.

“It has an impact in that you want to just concentrate on the rugby.

“It’s nothing we can control so the players have been very good.

“We’ve got a huge game this weekend against Bordeaux-Begles, so all our focus is on that,” the former England and Leinster boss added.

In February 2023, Habosi was sacked by Fijian Drua for a “high-level breach of the club’s code of conduct”.

According to reports in Fiji he was released by the Fijian Drua after a complaint of assault was filed to local police.

Later in the month he joined Racing, based to the west of the French capital.

Habosi played in five of Fiji’s matches at last year’s Rugby World Cup, starting on the wing against England in the quarter-final loss.