Three Wimbledon guards were arrested after a brawl that broke out after one of them apparently took an extended lunch break at the grounds of the All England Club†
Scotland Yard confirmed the teen trio had been questioned after officers were called to an altercation, with onlookers claiming the guards were outraged by a colleague’s three-hour break.
The men, who have been released since Friday’s fight, work for Knights Group Security, one of the contractors employed by Wimbledon to oversee SW19’s security.
Spectators said an employee accused his colleague of taking a three-hour break before informing the manager. One fan, not realizing who was involved in the brawl, said “someone is calling security”.
“On Friday, July 1, at 2 p.m., the officers on duty at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships were warned of an altercation on the grounds,” Scotland Yard said in a statement. “Agents were present. Three 19-year-old men who worked at the event were arrested on suspicion of affliction. There were no reports of injuries. They were taken into custody and later released on bail until the end of July.”
Security personnel had drawn attention earlier on Monday after confronting protesters carry “Where’s Peng Shuai?” t shirts on the Wimbledon grounds.
The former Wimbledon doubles champion disappeared from view last year after she senior Chinese official of sexual assault in November 2021†
Will Hoyles, 39, one of the campaigners working for the Free Tibet campaign, said he and others were quickly confronted by ‘suspicious’ security personnel as they walked around the Wimbledon grounds on Monday. “We came to raise a little awareness, but Wimbledon has managed to make it worse for itself by harassing us,” he said.
Knights Group is one of two companies that have deployed Wimbledon for security in recent years. The company based in Camberley, Surrey, was approached for comment.