France rugby star jailed after hitting wife in public admits he "lost control"

31 May 2023 , 10:12

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Mohamed Haouas of France (Image: (Photo by Dave Winter/Icon Sport via Getty Images))

French international prop Mohamed Haouas has been sentenced to a year in jail after hitting his wife during a public row over her smoking a cigarette.

The incident occurred on Friday, with Haouas arrested after hitting his wife, Imane, outside a shopping centre in Hérault, France. Reports claim the pair became engaged in a dispute after he saw her smoking a cigarette after she had previously said she had stopped.

During the hearing, the 29-year-old told the court: "She has the right to smoke but the problem is that she lied to me." He continued: "I said to myself that if she can lie about the cigarette, she could lie about other things.

"I imagined things, I got jealous. I got mad, and I lost control."

The wife of Mohamed Haouas, Imane, accompanied by her lawyer on May 30, 2023 ((Photo by Pascal GUYOT / AFP) (Photo by PASCAL GUYOT/AFP via Getty Images))

Haouas is now set to miss this summer's Rugby World Cup on home soil, despite reports suggesting he could yet be spared jail time due to being handed an adjustable sentence.

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His actions have led to condemnation from the French rugby federation, with his behaviour branded "inadmissible and incompatible with representing our country at international level".

Haouas has previously been handed an 18-month suspended sentence, with a 2022 verdict handed out following his role in a series of burglaries in 2014.

The loosehead prop had been due to sign for Clermont-Auvergne on a three-year contract this summer following his departure from Montpellier, but the club have now said that he "will not be able to wear the colours".

Mohammed Haouas punched Jamie Ritchie in 2020, leading to a red card ((Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images))

The 29-year-old has also been subject to multiple incidents of indiscipline on the pitch, with the most famous being a punch to Scotland's Jamie Ritchie in 2020. France subsequently lost the game, with a potential Grand Slam also lost in the process as England eventually won the championship.

This March he was banned for four weeks following a headbutt on Scotland scrum-half Ben White, with the incident making him the first player to have been sent off in two Six Nations matches.

France coach Fabien Galthie is expected to soon name his squad for the upcoming home World Cup, for which his side are among the favourites. He will now be unable to select Haouas, having previously picked the prop just three times since the beginning of 2022.

Will Freeman