- England and St Helens forward ‘racially abused and assaulted’
England forward Chantelle Crowl says she was racially abused and physically assaulted by staff at a Spanish hotel.
The St Helens women’s player, 30, was on holiday in Lloret de Mar, near Barcelona, to celebrate her first wedding anniversary with wife Annie.
Crowl said she was “repeatedly hit” by a staff member after racial slurs were made by hotel workers.
“I was in that much shock I did not know what to do or who to look for,” she told BBC Sport.
The Mossos d’Esquadra – the Catalan regional police force – said they had “responded to the request of Ms Crowl at the hotel and went to the incident, but none of the affected parties wanted to make a report.”
The Blue Sea Montevista Hawai hotel said they were “aware of the incident and were awaiting any police and judicial proceedings, if necessary, while collaborating to clarify the facts.”
They also added that one of their staff members had to attend hospital following the incident on Saturday, 3 June.
Since her return to England, Crowl, who says she struggled “to eat for three days” due to bruising around her jaw, has been forced to miss Saints’ Super League victory over local rivals Wigan and Sunday’s Challenge Cup quarter-final win over Warrington due to concussion protocols.
Crowl, who appeared for England at the women’s Rugby League World Cup in Australia in 2017, said things escalated after she went to the front desk to complain about racial slurs made by a lifeguard on the first day of an intended four-day break.
She added: “At the pool the lifeguard was making racist remarks and was really aggressive towards me and was telling my wife that she needed to tell her friend to ‘shut up’ and this and that.
“I got a bit upset and we went to make a complaint and the lady on the desk seemed sympathetic and was writing the details down. The manager came out from behind his desk and ripped it up and shouted ‘get out’ using the same racial slurs.
“I started to record him on my phone and he ripped it from out of my hand and gripped my face where I have two claw marks.”
Crowl, who was an integral part of the Saints side to win a Challenge Cup, League leaders’ trophy and Super League title in 2021, claims things got worse as they tried to leave the hotel.
“We got all of our luggage and everything together and on the way out of the hotel, the manager was stood with a handyman or electrician of the hotel that goes and fixes problems.
“They followed us out. I had a weird feeling but we were just trying to get out of there and when we got to by the roadside he [the handyman] just turned around and punched me in the face.
“He tried to take my suitcase so my wife had to grip onto it. He broke the [metal] bar off the suitcase and then repeatedly hit me in the face with it. He hit also me in the back as I tried to cover myself.
“Some of the Spanish people around on the street… witnesses got in his face and were shouting ‘no, no’ and he ran off. It is dreadful to live through.”
Crowl says that when she attended the police station in Lloret de Mar, she felt there was little meaningful help offered from the authorities.
“They didn’t get me checked out medically or anything like that. They were keen to get me to not press charges in any type of way by scaring me that I wouldn’t be able get home.
“They brought a translator and basically told me, you make no statement and he makes no statement, or you have to stay longer and can’t leave on your flight on Wednesday and I’d have to go back to Spain for court.
“The police also said because the hotel manager had indicated that he’d hurt his arm or finger when he grabbed and threw my phone, that if we were to make a statement he could do the same about that and we wouldn’t be able to leave.
“It was a no-win situation. There was no help and we just felt so alone.”
The Catalan regional police force rejected suggestions that they had not offered Crowl any help.
