Former NRL star Corey Norman has been handed an eight-match ban and a AU$850 fine for allegedly try to stick his finger up an opposition player's backside.
Norman was charged with the Super League's harshest Grade F charge for the incident in Toulouse's 32-18 loss to the Warrington Wolves lastweek.
It is alleged he poked the backside of Wolves player Oliver Holmes.
The 31-year-old playmaker pleaded not guilty to the charge but has now been ruled out for the season after a hearing on Wednesday.
According to Sky Sports, an excerpt of the Match Review Panel ruling labels Norman's actions "intentional".
"The footage of the incident shows a deliberate movement of Corey Norman's left arm and hand over the top of Oliver Holmes and on to his buttocks," the ruling reads.
"At no point does the footage show a grabbing of the shorts to push Oliver Holmes down as described by Corey Norman.
"The footage shows a deliberate placing of Corey Norman's hands and fingers on the buttocks and coupled with the immediate complaint from Holmes, the reaction of his teammate Danny Walker and the statement of Holmes to which we have measured regard we are entirely satisfied that this was an intentional placing of a hand between the buttocks of the opposing player and we find the charge proved."
Norman's suspension is a major blow to Toulouse's hopes to avoid relegation.
The French team is on the bottom of the ladder and has just four more games to escape the drop zone.
Norman played 228 games for Parramatta, Brisbane and St George Illawarra across a 12-year NRL career.
Corey Norman last played in the NRL for the St George Illawarra Dragons from 2019-2021. Photo / Getty
NRL commentator Mat Thompson went even further when discussing the saga on the Freddy and the Eighth tv show, labelling the incident 'sexual assault'.
He vented: "Without trying to be one of those wowzers, it's sexual assault.
"If you did it on the street you'd end up in jail."
Norman's indiscretion comes two decades after John Hopoate copped a 12-match ban for the same act in the NRL.
Hopoate was suspended for 12 games for the incident, which was described by an NRL official as "disgusting, violent and offensive".
More recently, Castleford's Kenny Edwards was banned for 10 matches last year for a similar act against former Bulldogs forward Sam Kasiano, who was playing for Huddersfield.
