France’s spectacular defeat in Scotland keeps on making waves. Beaten 50-40 at Murrayfield, France may also have left behind them an explosive disciplinary case. At the heart of the row, Oscar Jegou.

The La Rochelle back-rower has been officially cited after an action spotted on video during a Scottish maul close to the French line. In the pictures, his hand appears to come into contact with the eye area of replacement hooker Ewan Ashman. An act known in rugby jargon as an eye gouge, one of the most severely punished offences in the laws.

A disciplinary committee on Tuesday

Missed at the time by the referee and the television match official, the incident did not escape observers after the game. The replays quickly did the rounds, pushing the Championship authorities to open proceedings.

Oscar Jegou is therefore due to appear on Tuesday 10 March before an independent disciplinary committee tasked with examining the footage and the circumstances of the incident. At the end of the hearing, the panel will decide whether there was foul play and set the length of any suspension.

The eye gouge, the most severely punished offence

In the World Rugby regulations, which we have leafed through, contact with an opponent’s eyes or eye area is regarded as a particularly serious offence. The disciplinary grid provides for several levels of sanction depending on “seriousness and intent“.

For direct contact with the eye, the suspension can reach 12 weeks at the lowest level, 18 weeks at the mid-range level and more than 24 weeks in the most serious cases.

In some cases the sanction can even exceed a full season when the committee considers that an opponent’s physical safety was seriously endangered.

Intent at the heart of the case

The decision will largely depend on how the action is interpreted. The judges will therefore have to determine whether the France back-rower deliberately went for the eye area or whether it was accidental contact in a physical contest.

The circumstances of the incident, the angle of the footage and the player’s explanations will therefore be decisive. The player’s disciplinary record and his attitude during the hearing can also influence the length of the sanction.

A risk for the end of the Championship

If the committee upholds the eye gouge, Oscar Jegou could and logically should miss the end of the Six Nations and several weeks of competition with his club. A heavy prospect for a player who has established himself this season as an important piece of the France pack, but who had already been at the centre of an explosive off-field affair in the summer of 2024 and a French tour of Argentina…