Chile pulled off a historic 33-24 upset win over Canada in Valparaiso over the weekend. Canada will miss out on the World Cup for the first time ever after the South Americans claimed a 54-46 aggregate victory in their qualifying series.
However, many were upset after last week’s match when photos emerged showing what appeared to be a flagrant eye-gouge. Furthermore, no sanctions have yet been handed down by World Rugby.
Red card for eye gouge sets up possibly most dramatic ever Six Nations finale
Canadian scrum half Jamie Mackenzie tweeted photos of a Chilean player with his fingers clearly dug into his opponent’s face.
Came across this pic from @RugbyCanada vs @chilerugby and I am shocked @WorldRugby has done nothing about it. Players reporting eye gouging and other despicable behaviours. Surprisingly, as a half-back I like a bit of grit, but there’s no room for this BS in the game @raysrugby pic.twitter.com/vfRFKJWFlV
— Jamie Mackenzie (@jmackerdoo) October 6, 2021
There was some footage of the incident from another angle, included in the below video about officiating, but nothing could be seen except for a little push and shove amongst players.
Speaking after the match, Canada head coach Kingsley Jones said: “It’s tough right now. The changing room is not a pleasant place. A lot of the boys are really upset, of course. It’s tough. I feel for them.”
“We lost the game today. Chile were better than us today. They took their opportunities.”
Uruguay also defeated the United States 34-15 on Saturday for a 50-34 aggregate. Los Teros have qualified for France as Americas 1.
Chile will now face the U.S. to see who qualifies as Americas 2.
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