OLIVIER Azam could become the latest Gloucester player to be accused of foul play just two games into his return from a separate ban.

The French hooker looks likely to be accused of stamping on Saracens’ England captain Steve Borthwick, forcing the lock off the field and to hospital in the 12th minute of Gloucester’s 19-16 defeat.

Borthwick left the field with a nasty gash above his eye, which first team coach Mark McCall said “may have been a deliberate act of foul play”.

Azam said he did not think he had made contact with anyone.

He said: “I didn’t know I had made contact with Borthwick. All I remember is someone grabbed my ankle at the ruck.

“I didn’t feel I made contact with anyone. If there was contact with Borthwick’s head it was an accident. I am unaware of any contact.”

Asked about the words exchanged between the two players after the incident, Azam said: “Words are exchanged all the time on the rugby field.”

But McCall took a different view of the incident, and Azam could be joining Andy Hazell and Gareth Delve as Gloucester players who have been cited this season if the independent officer agrees.

McCall said: “We’ve had a quick look at it and we are concerned at the way it occurred. It would appear that it may have been a deliberate act of foul play.

“We’ll have a closer look at it. Steve is away at hospital to see if there’s any damage to his eye socket.

“It’s more than a cut. His eye is completely closed over and will need an X-ray to see if there is a fracture to the socket. We don’t know how bad it is.

“The video footage we’ve seen so far would appear to be reasonably clear, but we don’t want to say too much more until we’ve had a more detailed look.

“It’s something no one wants to see in rugby. Steve’s on the ground lying pretty much defenceless. We will study the video more closely to make sure of our facts.”

Meanwhile, Gloucester head coach Bryan Redpath did not see anything.

He said: “I haven’t seen anything. I wasn’t sat where I could see footage. I haven’t heard anything.

“No one has said anything to me from Saracens or our side.”

Azam missed the first two games of this season after he was banned for making contact with the eye area of Jamie Roberts of Cardiff Blues in the EDF Energy Cup final.

Hazell was banned for a week for stamping against Bath in the opening game of this season.

Joint captain Gareth delve will have his appeal heard today over his three-week ban for striking against London Irish.