UPDATE: Schwarzenegger will not lay charges after he was kicked in Sandton

Arnold Schwarzenegger will not be laying charges following an attack on him at the Sandton Convention Centre.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE: WATCH: Man kicks Arnold Schwarzenegger in the back during Arnold Classic Africa in Sandton

Schwarzenegger was attending the Arnold Classic Africa, a sporting event which he founded 30 years ago. While court side watching a gymnastics competition, Schwarzenegger was kicked in the back by a man.

The incident happened while Schwarzenegger was taking a Snapchat video of a gymnastics competition when the person breached security and proceeded to kick him in the back, in full view of everyone who was competing and watching.

A video of the attack went viral on social media with many fans concerned about Schwarzenegger. However, the star of the Terminator movie franchise said on his social media platforms that he thought he had been jostled by a crowd, as he was used to overzealous fans. It was not until he saw the video circulating on social media that he realised what had happened.

Wayne Price, the organiser of the Arnold Classic Africa, believed this incident was carefully planned by the offender as he was known to the police for orchestrating similar incidents in the past.

“There has been a lot of excitement and goodwill since the events began, Arnold was in great spirits and very generous with fans and athletes alike,” said Price.

“None of us could have foreseen that something like this could have taken place.”

The man was immediately restrained by security personnel and was handed over to the police. However, Schwarzenegger said he viewed the attack as ‘an unfortunate incident by a mischievous fan’.

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Captain Granville Meyer, the spokesperson for the Sandton Police Station, confirmed that no charges have been laid against the alleged attacker.

“Mr. Schwarzenegger is fine and still in good spirits,” added Price. “He still carried on with the activities as planned and is fully taking this in his stride. He even joked that some people clearly got more excited than others.”

Schwarzenegger reached out to concerned fans through social media and asked that instead of people paying attention to the incident, he hoped that the athletes who participated in the tournament would receive the spotlight instead.

Related article:

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/225038/arnold-sports-festival-africa-kicks-off-2/