French rugby international Mohamed Haouas handed 18-month suspended prison sentence and fined £13k for burglary

FRENCH rugby star Mohamed Haouas has been handed an 18-month suspended jail sentence and fined £13,000 after being found guilty of burglary.

Haouas, 27, was accused of five alleged offences back in 2014, when he was aged just 19.

AFPMohamed Haouas arrives at Montpellier Criminal Court this morning[/caption]

The Montpellier star arrived in the city’s Criminal Court this morning, accompanied by his lawyer and agent.

One of Haouas’ alleged accomplices took the stand, before he decided to remain silent on what happened, opting to let his lawyer speak on the matter on his behalf.

On his personal circumstances at the time, however, he did say: “‘I’m 100 per cent sorry, I was young.

“I was influenced. But I always had the objective of moving forward.

“I grew up in a tough neighbourhood, it was a vicious circle, either you stay or you escape.

“It’s my mind, I worked, I did everything to get out of it, for my family, my children.

“I am part of an association to get young people out of the neighbourhood.”

The prosecutor then said: “I would have preferred explanations from Mr Haouas, despite his background. I would have liked to have had an acknowledgment of the facts.”

After careful deliberation, Haouas was found guilty, receiving a suspended 18-month sentence and £13,000 fine.

Following the verdict, he confirmed that he would not be appealing – insisting that he was merely ‘relieved it’s over’.

Houas was already part of Montpellier’s academy set up back in 2014, going on to break into the first team three years later.

A France debut followed for the prop in 2020.

He has now been capped 13 times, although is not involved in this year’s Six Nations.

Haouas received a three-week ban during the 2020 edition of the competition after punching Scotland ace Jamie Ritchie.

Getty Images – GettyHaouas punches Jamie Ritchie in 2020[/caption]