Toulon flanker Steffon Armitage will appear in court on February 10 over a fight in a restaurant last month as teammate Xavier Chiocci was cleared of involvement, judicial sources said Thursday.
Armitage, last season's European player of the year and capped five times by England, and France international Chiocci were alleged to have struck a 31-year-old man on December 13 in a Toulon restaurant where they had spent an evening drinking after their side's 23-8 victory over Leicester in the European Champions Cup.
According to witnesses, a fight broke out and the two players felled the restaurant goer before striking him, injuring his eye.
Both Armitage and Chiocci told investigators they could remember nothing of what happened.
Police found that Chiocci was "not implicated" in the incident and released the 24-year-old late Wednesday.
But Armitage, 29, was placed on probation until the hearing, banned from returning to the restaurant and contacting witnesseses, and released on EUR5,000 ($5,655) bail.
When contacted by AFP, outspoken Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal said that he "had nothing to say for the moment" and was awaiting "more information".
Toulon said in a statement they would "take, where appropriate, the necessary sanctions to preserve values which are dear" to the team.
Both Armitage and Chiocci have been named in Toulon's 25-strong squad for Friday's Top 14 home match against Bayonne.
Source: AFP
