Ireland captain Johnny Sexton's World Cup preparation could take a serious hit after it was revealed that Sexton and Leinster have been issued with a misconduct letter by European Professional Club Rugby for the scenes in the Champions Cup final.
Leinster and La Rochelle both played each other in this final, and it was the French side that managed to come out on top in May.
The Ireland legend's conduct became one of the main takeaways from the game.
Sexton, who has not played rugby since Ireland won the Grand Slam in March, is alleged to have mouthed obscenities towards the three on-pitch officials. The three officials—South African referee Jaco Peyper and English linesmen Karl Dickson and Christophe Ridley—were alleged to be on the receiving end of Sexton's obscenities in the final.
🚨EXC: Johnny Sexton's World Cup swansong could be thrown into doubt as the talismanic Ireland No10 is slapped with a misconduct letter by EPCR following his actions at the 2023 Champions Cup final.
More here for @CityAM https://t.co/Hd7dIersyu— Matt Hardy (@MattHardyJourno) June 11, 2023
According to the publication CityAM, the Leinster out-half and his home province have received a letter from the EPCR about their misconduct.
Misconduct letters are part of the disciplinary process when issues such as these occur on or around a rugby pitch.
The EPCR has refused to comment on the speculation regarding the matter.
In the worst-case scenario, the 37-year-old could be slapped with as much as a 10-week ban if European rugby's disciplinary panel threw the book at him.
This will mean that Sexton's first game back will be Ireland's warm-up game against Samoa on August 26. This means that Sexton will have played one game under his belt in six months before the World Cup.
Sexton and Leinster are in the process of responding to the EPCR letter as of Monday, June 12.
