Golfer Thorbjorn Olesen Allegedly Sexually Assaults Passenger on Flight to London
Thorbjorn Olesen, a five-time European tour champion, was allegedly arrested earlier this week after he was accused of sexual assault on his flight to London.
Olesen, 29, and fellow golfer Ian Poulter were flying on a British Airways flight from Nashville, Tennessee to Heathrow Airport on Monday when the alleged incident occurred, The Sun reports.
During the flight, the Danish golfer allegedly molested a female passenger and went on to urinate in the plane’s first-class aisle before getting arrested by the Metropolitan Police Service once the aircraft landed, according to the outlet.
A rep for Olesen did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Service confirms to PEOPLE that they arrested a 29-year-old man at the airport shortly after the plane arrived in London for multiple reasons, including “suspicion of sexual assault.”
Authorities also noted that the suspect was released under investigation after he was arrested.
“On Monday, 29 July, officers based at Heathrow Airport arrested a 29-year-old man on an in-bound flight on suspicion of sexual assault, being drunk on board an aircraft and failing to comply with the orders of cabin crew,” the spokesperson says.
“He was taken into custody and subsequently released under investigation.”
Olesen and Poulter, 43, headed back home to London on Monday after competing in the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis, TN, where the golfers finished in 27th and 8th place, respectively.
At first, Poulter was said to have defused the situation between Olesen and British Airways’ passengers and flight attendants whom he was allegedly verbally abusing.
He eventually fell asleep, however, which is when witnesses on the plane claim to have watched Olesen engage in “shocking behavior,” The Sun reports.
“He started abusing some of the passengers and crew and then made a pass at one of the female passengers before taking a leak in the aisle,” the witness recalled to the outlet.
“It was shocking behavior. You would expect it, maybe, on a budget airline but not in the first-class cabin on BA [British Airways],” the witness added.
In a statement to PEOPLE, British Airways said, “Our customers and crews deserve to enjoy their flights, and not to suffer any form of abuse.”
“This sort of behavior will not be tolerated, and the appropriate action will always be taken,” they added.
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Poulter’s agent, Paul Dunkley, also confirmed to the outlet that his client did his best to calm down a “slightly intoxicated” passenger on the flight.
“He then went to sleep and the first he knew of anything else was when the police were waiting at Heathrow,” Dunkley told The Sun.
Olesen, who promotes himself as a Nike athlete, began his professional career in 2008, according to his bio on European Tour.
In his tenure, he has earned five European Tour victories, one Challenge Tour, and a personal best of a sixth-place finish at the 2013 Masters.