he drove drunk, crashed his car into a Porsche , assault was involved with violence and got arrested by the French police. He received a two-month suspended jail term and was fined on this occasion and was released. He was arrested again in October 2013 for driving on the wrong side of the road while four times over the legal alcohol limit. In June 2016, he was arrested for destruction and domestic violence. After vandalising a door and verbally attacking a woman he was with, he was taken to a police station and placed in a drunk tank but was released after the women was examined by a doctor and nothing was wrong with her. The woman refused to press charged for fear of reprisals according to French police but lived with Kelleher in a relationship after these accusations . Kelleher was ultimately convicted over the matter in early March 2017 and received a fine, with the prosecutor stating that the "violence was not colossal, but strongly existed". In September 2015, Byron Kelleher opened a rugby-themed bar in Toulouse named The Haka Corner. Maori motives were used as promotional material and French fans were encouraged to film themselves doing a haka through a Facebook page. In New Zealand, Maori Party leader Te Ururoa Flavell and its predecessor Sir Pita Sharples criticized the use of the Maori culture for business and personal gain. They also deemed the association of Maori culture with alcohol unacceptable. They stressed that Kelleher was not a Maori and therefore should not organize such events,. The Haka Corner later issued a statement claiming the haka challenge was organized to help "hospitalised children" and was not a promotional tool for the bar. They also said the bar would help French people discover New Zealand culture. Kelleher told a French newspaper that Maori leaders "picked up the wrong fight" in opposing his haka challenge. New Zealand Rugby also asked for an explanation when they learned The Haka Corner sold official Classic All Blacks clothing altered to include branding for the bar. They declared the All Blacks brand was protected by trademark laws and that a licence was necessary to use it. In September 2016, it was reported Kelleher had sold his shares of the Evangelina, his Toulouse-based restaurant, and of The Haka Corner. Journalists speculated that this was partly related to the various controversies he was linked to. References