Rugby: Gareth Thomas paid tens of thousands of euros to an ex-companion who accused him of having transmitted HIV to him

“I’m announcing it before the tabloids” began Gareth Thomas in his message on Twitter. This Monday, January 30, the former player of the Stade Toulosuain (2004-2007) and former captain of the Welsh rugby selection announced that he had settled the dispute which had opposed him for several months to a former companion.

He explains that he agreed to pay 75,000 pounds, or 85,000 euros to this ex who had filed a complaint against him for, according to him, having hidden his HIV status from him and transmitted HIV.

I’m making this announcement first before the tabloids take my truth. I am delighted to say that the legal case against me has been settled by means of a Part 36 offer.

This is not an admission of liability or guilt. I maintain my innocence in all the meritless allegations.

— Gareth Thomas (@gareththomas14) January 30, 2023

The former player, who wants to insist on his “innocence”, assures that “paying 75,000 pounds is nothing” compared to the sums he would have had to spend to defend himself “successfully in court”.

The man who accused Gareth Thomas is Ian Baum, 59. Occasional partner of the former player in 2013, he explained to the British daily The Times that Gareth Thomas had “hid the fact that he was carrying HIV”, and had passed it on to him.

Still according to Ian Baum, a caregiver by profession, Gareth Thomas, in addition to having hidden his illness, would never have taken the necessary precautions to ensure that he would not transmit it. It was only several months after the start of the relationship that Ian Baum, according to him, would have taken an HIV test, the result of which was positive.

Remember that Gareth Thomas, 100 selections with Wales, was the first rugby player in history to announce that he was gay in 2009. Since his retirement from the field, he has become an activist for gay rights.