Steyn: I was eye-gouged
Veteran Springbok Morné Steyn claims he was 'eye-gouged', which is why he kicked out at Fijian wing Mosese Ratuvou.
The 30-year-old flyhalf was red-carded for the kick in the first half of the Stade Français' 9-12 loss to Lyon in a French Top 14 match last Friday.
Steyn, the top-scorer at the 2011 World Cup and a holder of numerous international records, had confidently kicked Stade into a 6-0 lead – courtesy of a 40-metre penalty and a quick-thinking drop-goal.
But after Ratuvou had cut the deficit with the game's opening try, Steyn saw red in the 31st minute for kicking the Fijian wing as the two tussled on the ground.
It left Stade to play 50 minutes with 14 men and Lyon took full advantage when Ratuvou added a second try early in the second period, muscling his way over after a sharp pass from Ricky Januarie.
Steyn, speaking to French newspaper Midi Olympique, said he felt referee Cédric Marchat had overreacted and that his 'retaliation' for the facial massage should only have been a yellow card.
"The Lyon player put his hand in my eyes," Steyn told the newspaper – a view backed up by video evidence of the incident.
"I was beside myself, I hate that kind of behaviour. Those are things you shouldn't do, I was angry and reacted badly.
"But was it worth a red card? Honestly, it's hard," Steyn added.
Steyn, who scored eight tries in his 59 Tests since his debut with series-winning performances against the British and Irish Lions in 2009, has not played for the Boks since their disappointing 23-24 loss to the Wallabies in Perth back in September last year – when he was blamed for the loss because of a failed touch-finder late in the match.
Among the records he holds are the world record for most points scored by a player who has scored all their team's points (31); most points scored against New Zealand (31) in a single Test; the fastest to 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 points by a Springbok.
Morné Steyn red card:
