Dec 12,2024
An Argentine court has dismissed aggravated rape charges against French international rugby players Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, drawing a line under a dark period for the European country's rugby community.
Auradou and Jegou, both 21, had been under investigation since 12 July for alleged aggravated rape in Argentina's western Mendoza province after they made their international debuts.
The two players always denied any wrongdoing and said the sex was consensual.
In a statement, Argentina's judiciary said Judge Eleonora Arenas had decided to dismiss the case against them on the basis that "the facts investigated do not constitute a crime".
Auradou and Jegou were reported on 7 July by a 39-year-old woman and detained the following day in Mendoza, where they had faced the Argentina rugby team.
In September, the results of psychological and psychiatric tests concluded that there were "a series of inconsistencies and contradictions" in the woman's version of events.
The two players spent several days in preventive detention and almost a month under house arrest in Argentina. They were eventually allowed to leave Argentina at the start of September, when they returned to France.
Auradou has played eight matches for his club, Section Paloise, since he returned to competition on 5 October, while Jegou resumed playing on 2 November with La Rochelle and has played four matches.
The French Rugby Federation, whose president Florian Grill said in October that Auradou and Jegou would not play for the national team again "until the case is dismissed", said the duo would now be "eligible for selection" again.
"The French Rugby Federation welcomes this decision with relief and satisfaction," it said in a statement.
Any readers affected by the issues raised in this reporting can access helpline information here. Scroll down to the second section, Abuse/Domestic Violence.
