Australia rugby league international Blake Ferguson could “hardly stand up” after a month in a Japanese prison, he said yesterday, adding that he would plead guilty to drug charges that derailed his career.
Ferguson was arrested over an alleged assault and possession of illegal drugs in Tokyo last month, as he prepared to make his rugby union debut with top-flight club NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu.
Instead, he was thrown in jail and his contract, reportedly worth A$1.5 million (US$1.1 million), was torn up.
Photo: AFP
The 31-year-old is free, but remains in Japan awaiting a court appearance this month.
“I’m going to plead guilty and hopefully they will show some leniency. It’s important that I accept responsibility,” he told the Sydney Daily Telegraph.
“I got myself into this mess and there’s no one else to blame,” he added.
Ferguson, who played more than 200 games for a host of Australian clubs and appeared seven times for the national team, said that being jailed was “lonely and boring,” with his cellphone confiscated and no contact with his family.
“It was just me and some Japanese guys who couldn’t speak English. I read a few books, but that was about it. The food was pretty ordinary and I got a really bad back,” the father of three said.
“Seriously, the mattress would have been a centimeter thick. I could hardly stand up for a few days. I certainly wouldn’t want to go back,” he said.
His agent, Sam Ayoub, told the newspaper that it was too early to say whether Ferguson would play rugby again.
“I don’t know what interest is out there because we haven’t gone to the clubs,” he said. “Our priority is to get Blake home to his family and then take it from there.”
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