France prop Mohamed Haouas has been sentenced to one year in jail for domestic abuse.
He was arrested on Friday for hitting his wife when he saw her smoking – after telling him she had stopped.
The incident is likely to end any hopes Haouas had of being picked for September’s World Cup in France.
France’s rugby federation called his behaviour “inadmissible and incompatible with representing our country at international level”.
Montpellier’s Haouas will launch an appeal and therefore remains free in the meantime, or could wear an electronic tag.
On hitting his wife in public, the 29-year-old told the court: “She has the right to smoke but the problem is that she lied to me.
“I said to myself that if she can lie about the cigarette, she could lie about other things.”
The France international, who has 16 caps, was banned in March for four weeks after headbutting Scotland’s Ben White in the Six Nations.
It was his second sending-off against Scotland in three years, after he punched Jamie Ritchie in 2020.
After spending his rugby career with Montpellier, Haouas was set to leave this summer after agreeing a three-year contract with Clermont.
However, the Top 14 club have said he “will not be able to wear the colours” following his guilty verdict.
In 2022, Haouas was handed an 18-month suspended sentence for his role in a series of burglaries in 2014.
Source – BBC Sport
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