Matthieu Ugalde handed 14-week gouging ban

Matthieu Ugalde handed 14-week gouging ban

  • Matthieu Ugalde has been suspended for 14 weeks after being found of eye-gouging
  • The gouge was on Grenoble wing Armand Batlle as he scored a try
  • The 14-week suspension indicates it was viewed by officials to be a lower-grade offence
Brive back Matthieu Ugalde has been suspended for 14 weeks after he was found guilty of eye gouging.

Ugalde was cited after the incident with Grenoble’s Armand Batlle in his side’s loss in Round 4 of the Top 14. He is free to play from January 2, 2017.

Punishments for eye gouging can range from 12 to 208 weeks.



Discussing the incident after the match, Ugalde at the time said: “For me it wasn’t a gouge, it was a closed fist.”

Battle added: “He came to see me after the match which I appreciated, but I cannot condone his actions.”

In total, seven other players involved in the match were also suspended by the LNR for their roles in a mass brawl towards the end of the contest.

Brive’s Damien Jourdain, Benjamin Lapeyre, Arnaud Mignardi, along with Grenoble pair Nigel Hunt and Charl McLeod, were all suspended for three weeks.

Sone Taumalolo and Henry Vanderglas of Grenoble additionally received a one-week suspension.