Two French XV players accused of sexual assault and arrested in Argentina

The South American tour of the French XV is going badly. After the broadcast of a racist video of Melvyn Jaminet, followed by his exclusion from the French team, a new affair is shaking up the Blues. Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou are the subject of a complaint for sexual assault and were arrested by the police in Argentina on Monday. “There is an investigation underway. We don’t have all the details yet since we just arrived in Buenos Aires with Jean-Marc Lhermet [le vice-président de la Fédération française de rugby]“, confirmed the president of the FFR Florian Grill to several journalists, including AFP, on Tuesday July 9.

“If the facts are proven, they are incredibly serious. We must have a thought for the young woman. It is the opposite of everything that rugby is, everything that rugby does, everything that rugby builds (…) but we must let the investigation, which is necessary, take place, he added. Rugby is anecdotal, everything else is secondary. The sequence is dramatic.”

According to the Argentine media Mendoza Postthe attack allegedly took place on the night of Saturday to Sunday, at the Diplomatic Hotel in Mendoza, where players and staff were staying during the first test match against the Pumas of Argentina. The two players incriminated had both participated in the match.

The prosecutor has requested the immediate arrest of the suspects, who are in Buenos Aires for the rest of their summer tour: they have been transferred to Mendoza. Fabien Galthié’s Les Bleus are due to leave for Montevideo on Tuesday, where they will face Uruguay in a friendly match on Wednesday. The French XV will return to Buenos Aires to challenge Argentina again on Saturday.