Two French professional rugby players accused of raping a woman became available for international selection for the 2025 Guinness Six Nations after the alleged rape case against them in Argentina was dismissed on Tuesday.
The judge in Mendoza, about a thousand kilometers west of the capital, Buenos Aires, rejected the case against the two 21-year-old athletes, Hugo Urado and Oscar Jego, citing insufficient evidence.
“The facts under investigation do not constitute a crime,” the court said.
The case began in July, when a 39-year-old Argentine woman filed a police complaint alleging that she was beaten, strangled and repeatedly raped by rugby players in their Mendoza hotel room.
The rugby players admitted having sex with the plaintiff – whom they met during an alcohol-fueled night out after their win over Argentina's Pumas on July 7 – but insisted the encounter was consensual. They were detained in pretrial detention, then placed under house arrest for a month.
The defense said the dismissal strengthened their confidence in the justice system.
“I think it will be a turning point,” German Hnato, a lawyer representing one of the players, told Radio Miter Mendoza, a local radio station. “There are many false accusations in terms of sexual crimes, in terms of sexual violence, that cause harm.”
The plaintiff can appeal the ruling. She did not say whether she intended to do so, and her lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
Over the past few months, the case has slowly unfolded as the defense poked holes in the woman's description of events.
Based on questionable evidence presented before the court – including WhatsApp audio messages that the plaintiff sent to her friend in which she joked and bragged about having rough sex with her – the prosecution agreed in September that the athletes would return to France under certain conditions.
The plaintiff's lawyer explained that any inconsistencies in her story were the result of the “extreme trauma and stress” she was subjected to.
She underwent physical examinations as part of the investigation and was found to suffer from a severe bleeding ulcer and other injuries that were allegedly related to the assault.
The French Rugby Federation expressed its “satisfaction and satisfaction” with the judge's decision. She added that the athletes, who were suspended due to the seriousness of the charges, would be eligible to return to the national team “if their athletic performance allows it.”
