France flanker in hot water over alleged eye-gouge
DISCIPLINARY UPDATE: France could be without one of their most promising up-and-coming loose forwards after being cited for an alleged eye-gouging incident in Les Bleus’ 50-40 Six Nations defeat to Scotland.
Oscar Jegou had been singled out for the above-mentioned offence on Scotland hooker Ewan Ashman and will appear in front of a disciplinary committee on March 10.
The news comes as an insult to injury as France will have to beat England, preferably with a bonus point in the tournament finale and hope Scotland loses to Ireland to retain their title.
Should France lose to England and Ireland defeat Scotland, Ireland will claim the title; however, a Scotland victory in Dublin and a France loss to England will hand Gregor Townsend’s team their first title since winning the then Five Nations in 1999.
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Also read: Three key takeaways from the Six Nations
The statement from the Six Nations reads:
France (No.7), Oscar Jégou, will attend an independent disciplinary hearing after he was cited for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.12 (A player must not physically or verbally abuse anyone. Physical abuse includes, but is not limited to, biting, punching, contact with the eye or eye area, striking with any part of the arm, shoulder, head or knee(s), stamping, trampling, tripping or kicking in the Men’s Six Nations Championship match between Scotland and France on Saturday, March 7 2026.
The player will attend the hearing via video conference before an independent Disciplinary Committee comprising Simon Thomas (Chair), Christopher Morgan and John Langford.
The hearing will take place on Tuesday, March 10 2026, at 9.30 (GMT).
In clear online footage circulating on social media, it can be seen how Jegou makes contact with the eye area of Ashman in a maul, which led to Darcy Graham scoring moments later.
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Oscar Jegou has been cited for this incident in France’s loss to Scotland 🇫🇷🏴
‘Cited for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.12, which deals with ‘physical abuse’, one of the areas being ‘contact with the eye or eye area’ pic.twitter.com/9j3zH1PG3D
— Pat McCarry (@patmccarry) March 8, 2026
As we saw with Eben Etzebeth last season during the Nations Series, Jegou’s ban could be significant, depending on the outcome of the hearing. The Bok lock received a 12-week suspension.
Sanction entry points for contact with the eye area start at 12 weeks (low-end), rising to 18 weeks (mid-range) and 24 weeks (top-end), with an absolute maximum of 52 weeks in the most serious cases.
On the more serious front, if eye contact is deemed reckless or intentional, a maximum ban of up to 208 weeks (four years) could be imposed, effectively ending Etzebeth’s playing career.
Mitigation can reduce the sanction by up to 50 percent, depending on the player’s disciplinary record.
