South Africa's Eben Etzebeth to appear at hearing after red card for alleged eye-gouging

A number of factors will be considered in how long Etzebeth will be banned, including that he reportedly apologised to Alex Mann after the match.

South Africa's Eben Etzebeth was sent off with two minutes remaining in his side's victory over Wales. Pic: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire.

Eben Etzebeth is expected to appear at a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday after his red card for alleged eye-gouging in the dominant victory against Wales on Saturday, with the Springboks lock potentially facing a long ban. The verdict is likely to be announced on Wednesday.

As South Africa closed in on a record 73-0 victory in Cardiff, Etzebeth clashed with the Welsh back-rower Alex Mann, appearing to make contact with his opponent’s left eye in a fracas involving several players from both sides.

With two minutes left at the Principality Stadium, the 34-year-old was shown a permanent red card by the referee, Luc Ramos, after a review with the television match official, Eric Gauzins. “You have a clear finger in the eyes, so for me, it’s a permanent red card,” Ramos said during the review.

A ban would be a blow to Etzebeth’s club, the Sharks, who begin their Champions Cup campaign in Toulouse on Sunday before hosting Saracens in Durban six days later. The maximum ban for making intentional contact with an opponent’s eyes is four years, while an offence at the lowest end of the scale may result in a four-week suspension.

A mid-range offence could involve an eight-week ban and a top-end offence 12 weeks, with any ban’s length potentially reduced in light of his previously good disciplinary record, and other submissions made by Etzebeth’s team.

A number of factors will be considered, including the fact that Etzebeth reportedly apologised to Mann after the match. Should the panel find that Etzebeth intentionally eye-gouged his opponent, however, a long ban seems guaranteed.

“I don’t know what I can say now that won’t be controversial,” Rassie Erasmus, South Africa’s head coach, said on Saturday. ”It didn’t look good, I think it was a justified red card. How it happened and why it happened, and if he was provoked, I’m not sure. But that’s definitely not the way we would have liked to end the game.“ 

In January, the South Africa wing and Etzebeth’s clubmate, Makazole Mapimpi, was banned for three matches having admitted making contact with the eye area of an opponent in a United Rugby Championship encounter against Cardiff. Mapimpi had previously been banned for two weeks for a similar incident involving Maxime Lucu, of Bordeaux-Bègles, in 2023.

In April Henco Venter, of Glasgow Warriors, received a six-week ban for making contact with the eye area of Dan Cole in a Champions Cup game against Leicester. Chris Ashton (10-week ban in 2016) and Dylan Hartley (six-month ban in 2007) are other notable names to be punished for similar offences.

Guardian