Toulon suspend O'Connor over Paris cocaine bust

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February 28, 2017 3:35 PM

French police on Sunday charged former All Black Ali Williams with buying cocaine and O'Connor with possession of the drug.

James O'Connor is temporarily suspended by his club Toulon after he is busted with cocaine

Australian international

French police on Sunday charged former All Black Ali Williams with buying cocaine and O'Connor with possession of the drug.

The pair were arrested at 3am on Saturday outside a nightclub near the Champs Elysees in possession of 2.4 grams (0.08 ounces) of the substance.

O'Connor met on Tuesday with outspoken Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal, who had stressed that he would await talks with the utility back before making a final decision on his sanction. Racing 92 imposed an indefinite ban on Williams.

"Following talks, James O'Connor is temporarily suspended until a next meeting which will take place within eight days," Toulon said in a statement.

Boudjellal warned on Monday that O'Connor's case was "complicated", and it might affect his contract renewal negotiations. The Australian's deal with the French giants finishes at the end of this season.

O'Connor's run-in with Paris police is the latest off-field digression for an outstanding player who made his Wallabies debut at the age of 18 and has gone on to win 44 caps.

He was infamously banned from boarding a plane in Perth shortly after his last Test, against Argentina in 2013, later apologising for the drunken incident which also saw him removed from the airport.

O'Connor decided to move to England where he played for London Irish before joining Toulon in 2014.

The 26-year-old headed home to join Queensland Reds in a bid to boost his chances of being selected for the Wallabies for the 2015 World Cup.

But he missed the cut for Michael Cheika's squad and exercised an early-release clause that saw him head back to Toulon.

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