Wales Quit Threat Over Flash Photography

The Wales wheelchair rugby league team has threatened to pull out of Thursday’s World Cup play-off match against Spain after blaming photographers’ flashes for causing a player to twice suffer seizures.

Harry Jones suffered a first seizure in a group match against France on Monday and experienced the same on Tuesday in a 105-24 defeat to Italy.

A report on the Wales Rugby League website cited “the closeness of the photographer to the pitch” as the cause of the second seizure, and similar circumstances were attributed to the initial incident.

Jones has been ruled out of Wales’ final match, which sees them take on Spain for fifth place. Wales have said they will not play if photographers are again so close to the pitch.

Wales team manager Mark Andrew Jones said: “There are announcements and posters at every game regarding flash photography.

“We now remove the team from the pitch until it’s sorted.”

Coach Steve Jones added: “Mark Williams went to hospital with a suspected fractured collar bone which luckily for him turned out not to be broken but his shoulder dislocating.

“It was quickly popped back in and both he and Harry were discharged in the early hours with advice and medication. However this means both their World Cup journeys are over.”