Blue singer Lee Ryan was allegedly pushed down a flight of stairs on an aeroplane by another passenger during a flight to Turkey after a "culturally insensitive" act, the British boyband has claimed.
Ryan, 40, suffered a leg injury during the alleged incident on a flight from Georgia to Istanbul on Saturday, according to a statement on the group's official social media channels.
Blue said the alleged assault happened after Ryan "put his feet on the seat, which was considered culturally insensitive" and he had "apologised for any unknowing offence caused".
The rest of his group - Simon Webbe, Duncan James, and Antony Costa - are said to have defended Ryan during the alleged assault, according to a post on Blue's Instagram page.
The group alleged Ryan was also pushed down a flight of stairs when the aircraft landed.
"Both parties were spoken to by the police in Turkey and to which Lee voluntarily gave a victim statement supported by the band," said a statement on the group's Instagram page.
"Lee was not at any point arrested, detained or charged with any offence and after giving his statement, was free to continue his journey."
The alleged assault comes a month after Ryan successfully applied to withdraw his guilty plea to drunkenly assaulting a police officer during his arrest for abusing a black flight attendant.
A British court was told in January the singer was "slurring his words and staggering around" after drinking a bottle of port before a British Airways flight from Glasgow to London City Airport on 31 July last year.
After being refused more alcohol on the plane and told to return to his seat, Ryan made comments about flight attendant Leah Gordon's looks before grabbing her wrists.
Police footage showed Ryan "snarling" and swearing after allegedly trying to bite a PC as officers tried to arrest him at the airport.
He was found guilty at Ealing Magistrates' Court in January of racially aggravated common assault by beating and behaving in an abusive way towards the cabin crew member.
Ryan pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer by biting him, but at Westminster Magistrates' Court in June, the singer was told it would be "unjust" for him not to be allowed to withdraw the guilty plea after he claimed to have received bad advice from his solicitor.
A decision on whether Ryan will face a trial will be made later this month.
Source: Press Association
