‘I accept guilt,’ Etzebeth says as he denies eye gouge was intentional

Eben Etzebeth has doubled down on his recent defence against an eye-gouging charge, saying that it was “not intentional” in an impassioned post on social media.

The veteran Bok lock was found guilty of an “intentional” eye gouge on Wales flank Alex Mann during the 29 November Test, which the Springboks won 73-0.

The incident occurred in the 78th minute of the match after a scuffle on the ground.

In his social media post published on Wednesday, Etzebeth uses three video clips to make the point that his action, which resulted in his thumb in Mann’s eye, was accidental.

See Etzebeth’s post here.

“I’ve been quiet, but now that my hearing is done, I think I owe everyone an explanation,” Etzebeth wrote about the incident and subsequent suspension.

“First of all, this is not a post to show that I was not guilty, I accept guilt. I made a mistake and I’m willing to serve a suspension which I deserve.

“I don’t want young kids who look up to the Springboks to think that it’s okay to eye-gouge someone, because it’s not, but unfortunately mistakes happen and I made a big one for which I’m sorry.

“But I’d like to answer the question – why did you do such a thing?
“It was a mistake caused by my reaction and other factors that played a role.”

Reckless

During his hearing on 2 December, the committee, chaired by Christopher Quinlan KC and including former England internationals Leon Lloyd and Becky Essex, admitted there were “some mitigating factors”, which led to a reduced 12-match ban.

Other than explaining to his fans, it’s unclear what Etzebeth is hoping to achieve with this post. It won’t lead to a reduction of sentence, but it does demonstrate some level of mitigation.

The videos posted show Mann striking Etzebeth with an open hand and pulling his collar before the big lock hits back at the Wales forward.

While the details are open to interpretation, the video clips, some of which the disciplinary committee would have seen in the initial hearing, underline that Mann was not an entirely innocent victim in the flare-up.

What Etzebeth’s post doesn’t clearly show is his thumb going into Mann’s eye, nor does it give a logical explanation of how it happened.

“The scuffle was basically over when Wales #7 (Mann) struck me with an open hand to my chin/neck area,” Etzebeth writes in his post.

“You can see me looking at the Assistant Referee and waiting for a reaction from him (it happened fast and it’s understandable that he didn’t see it) without reacting yet, I got another pull on my jersey, before I go in with the similar type of action.”

Referring to a second video clip, Etzebeth said: “You can clearly see my first point of contact is against his shoulder with an open hand.

“Another thing worth mentioning, when he struck me, I was standing still with not a lot of movement or players trying to get involved,” Etzebeth notes.

“When I went for the same open hand towards his shoulder, you’ll see two Welsh players changing the dynamic of the entire picture as well as one of my teammates pulling Wales #7 around his neck away from my hand and where my force is going.

“So why did I post this?

“To try and show people how everything happened and that it was never intentional. I would never do something like this on purpose, I know what the consequences will be after playing rugby for a few years.”

But the committee that charged Etzebeth believed it was intentional and noted it in the formal report. Unfortunately for Etzebeth, that aspect will not change, although his social media post might win him more sympathy in the court of public opinion.

“I’m sorry for letting you and the game down. That was my first red card since I started playing. I want it to be my last.

“To the people that were angry and upset with my actions, I understand – because it didn’t look good on the slow-motion replay and hopefully you’ve got a bit more context now.” DM