Ireland and British and Irish Lions tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong has been accused of grabbing the genitals of Munster back-rower Gavin Coombes during Leinster’s 24-18 United Rugby Championship victory at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening.
Citing commissioner Peter Ferguson charged Furlong under law 9.27, which prohibits conduct contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship, specifically the grabbing, twisting or squeezing of genitals.
Should the Leinster prop be found guilty, he faces a suspension ranging from a minimum of 12 weeks to a maximum of four years.
Furlong will face a ban that would rule him out of Ireland’s Nations Championship fixtures next month if he is found guilty.
No date for his disciplinary hearing has been set yet.
The allegation arose following a ruck in the 37th minute of Saturday’s encounter, with Coombes raising the complaint during the match.
Referee Andrew Brace referred the matter to television match official Colin Stanley for review, but the available broadcast angles failed to produce definitive images supporting the claim.
However, Munster later supplied Ferguson with clear footage of the alleged incident, prompting the citing commissioner to take formal action against Furlong, according to the Irish Independent.
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Munster head coach Clayton McMillan expressed full confidence in his player’s account.
He said: “It’s one of those things that we leave in the hands of the powers that be.
“All I know is that I back our players 100 per cent that if they make an allegation like that, they wouldn’t do it lightly, and that’s not the sort of person Gavin is, so we’ll see where that goes.”
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen acknowledged the severity of the accusation but maintained he had seen nothing irregular in the replays.
He said: “That is the accusation, but I’m not seeing anything on first view.
“It looked like he [Coombes] had changed his mind halfway through that accusation as well.
“That’s the way it sounded, once the scrum was packing down. But I don’t know.
“Obviously, once that accusation is made, it becomes a serious matter for the citing commissioner. So my comment is not going to help in any way here.
“But from what I’ve seen, I can’t see anything.”
In 2020, England prop Joe Marler received a 10-week suspension, reduced from the minimum 12 weeks owing to mitigating circumstances, after grabbing the genitals of Wales lock Alun Wyn Jones during a Six Nations fixture at Twickenham.
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