Belgium's Charles-Henri Berguet cops ban for ugly incident in qualifier

Belgium loosehead Charles-Henri Berguet has been hit with a four-match suspension after being sent off for a boot to the face of Brazil hooker Yan Rosetti during last Thursday’s Rugby World Cup 2027 Final Qualification Tournament clash in Dubai.

The incident happened in the 50th minute with Belgium trailing 14-17. Berguet had just been brought to ground when he lashed out with his boot, catching Rosetti flush in the face. The Brazilian, who had scored earlier in the match, immediately clutched his head and writhed on the turf with clear stud marks visible.

TMO intervention followed within seconds and the referee delivered an on-the-spot red card as tempers flared between both packs. Belgium ultimately rallied to win 30-27, setting up a winner-takes-all qualifier against Samoa on 18 November for the final ticket to Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia.

The case was first reviewed on 14 November by World Rugby’s Foul Play Review Committee before being escalated to a full disciplinary hearing due to the seriousness of the act.

Berguet accepted he had committed a dangerous act but disputed that it met the red-card threshold when he appeared before the panel on Sunday 16 November, chaired by Nigel Hampton KC alongside former internationals Ofisa Tonu’u and Jamie Corsi.

Crazy Belgian prop getting a red card for this earlier in their RWC qualifying game against Brazil. pic.twitter.com/gEn5gqLZac

— Swivel Eyed Broon (@Mr_Mark_Brown) November 13, 2025

After assessing all footage and submissions, the panel confirmed the sending-off – but upgraded the offence from Law 9.11 (reckless or dangerous play) to Law 9.12, which covers physical aggression.

World Rugby said: “The Committee considered the appropriate entry point for the offending and found that due to the contact with the head in the incident, that the offence warranted the mandatory mid-range entry point of eight matches. Having considered submissions as regards mitigation, the Committee decided that the player was entitled to full available mitigation resulting in a final sanction of four matches.”

The ban ends Berguet’s tournament and rules him out of Vannes’ next three Pro D2 matches against Agen on 29 November, Carcassonne on 5 December and Biarritz on 12 December, as well as Belgium’s qualifier against Samoa on 18 November.

He has 48 hours from receipt of the written judgment to lodge an appeal.

You can watch the final qualifier between Samoa and Belgium on RugbyPass TV.