Brive's Matthieu Ugalde could be suspeneded after eye gouge

Image: Grenoble's and Brive's players fight during their French Top 14 rugby union match

Brive fly-half Matthieu Ugalde could be set for a lengthy ban after making contact with the eyes of Grenoble's Armand Batle during their Top 14 clash on Sunday.

With alleged eye-gouging, three red cards and a mass brawl, the game did nothing but tarnish rugby union's reputation as Grenoble recorded a 36-23 win.

The brawl kicked off just before the half-time whistle when Brive prop Damien Jourdain lashed out Grenoble prop Sona Taumalolo at the scrum.

This sparked the rest of the team to get involved with both benches and staff members running on to throw punches.

After the melee had calmed down both Jourdain and Taumalolo were shown red as well as Grenoble centre Nigel Hunt for his part in the brawl.

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The bad-tempered affair continued and in the 64th minute Batle scored Grenobles' final try. However, video footage showed Ugalde placing his fingers into the winger's eyes before team-mates pulled him off.

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Players on both sides will be anxiously awaiting the findings of the citing commissioner, especially Ugalde who could find himself in real trouble.

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