French prop Mohamed Haouas was handed a one-year jail sentence for hitting his wife in public.

The 29-year-old testified in court that he lost control when he saw his wife smoking in the shopping centre where she worked, despite her assurances that she had quit.

“She has the right to smoke… but the problem is that she lied to me… and I said to myself that if she can lie about the cigarette, she could lie about other things,” he told the court in Montpellier, southern France.

The court did not follow the prosecution’s recommendation, which called for an immediate 18-month prison sentence for the actor.

Haouas will remain free while he files an appeal, or he may be fitted with an electronic tag.

Having received an 18-month suspended sentence for armed robbery, Haouas’ international career is likely to be over.

After receiving a red card for headbutting an opponent during France’s Six Nations victory over Scotland in February, his chances of being selected for this year’s World Cup were already bleak. In 2020, he was also dismissed against the same opponent.

Next month, coach Fabien Galthie will announce his 42-person training squad for the tournament that France will host from September 8 to October 28.

“The behaviour of Mohamed Haouas is unacceptable and incompatible with the representation of our nation at the international level,” the French Rugby Federation (FFR) said in a statement after Tuesday’s verdict.

Explaining what had happened in the incident last Friday, Haouas, who weighs 123 kg (271 pounds), told the court: “I was imagining things. Married men cheat on their wives, I love her, so I was afraid.”

Turning to his wife, the mother of his two children, Haouas said: “I became emotional and I really regret it… that’s my wife, I love her, I love her.”