Controversy has hit Antoine Dupont off the pitch during the Six Nations as France prepare to travel to Wales
Fasika Zelealem Senior Sports Reporter
11:24, 10 Feb 2026Updated 11:26, 10 Feb 2026
Antoine Dupont has been plunged into controversy(Image: Getty Images)
Antoine Dupont has found himself in the centre of a shock investigation just days before France’s Six Nations clash against Wales.
The French captain enjoyed a strong start to the tournament with the reigning champions starting off their campaign with a dominant 36-14 victory over Ireland last week.
However, the scrum-half is in danger of his preparations being scuppered for the match at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday due to an investigation by French media outlet L’Equipe.
The newspaper have claimed that Dupont, alongside France and Toulouse team-mate Anthony Jelonch, have been paid in fake sponsorships in order to circumvent salary cap rules in the Top 14 – France’s top division of rugby.
A company named 3S-Alyzia, who are a partner of Toulouse, are said to have paid £1.5million (€1.8m) to Dupont across nearly 10 years and around £148,000 (€170,000) to Jelonch in exchange for image rights and advertising services which have been described as “virtually non-existent.”
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L’Equipe are reporting that no public use of their image is able to justify the huge figures the players have been paid. The controversy brings the matter of the possible circumvention of the Top 14 salary cap, which Toulouse have fallen foul of in the past.
The club were fined £1.5million (€1.8m) last December for breaching the salary cap rules in the signing of Melvyn Jaminet from Perpignan in 2022. They also had two points deducted in the Top 14 standings.
In response, the defence have argued that the use of the image rights and advertising services has been done privately, instead of publicly via posters or the posting of videos on social media.
Dupont is aiming to lead France to back-to-back Six Nations titles(Image: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
In attempts to push back against the allegations, Dupont’s lawyer has provided 14 documents that are said to prove his services for 3S-Alyzia. Among the documents are photos from events as well as a badge from the 2019 Paris Air Show.
However, L’Equipe have insisted the images would not fall under the criteria of individual image use due to it being related to the partnership between Toulouse and the sponsor.
The article also claims particular fees paid to Dupont by Fiducial, a club sponsor of Toulouse, would not have been detailed in the salary cap calculation. Despite the reports from the newspaper, an official investigation into Toulouse has yet to be announced.
However, that may change in the next few days if the information provided by L’Equipe provides scope for an investigation to take place by the LNR’s salary cap manager. The report couldn’t come at a worse time for Dupont, who aims to led France to victory in Cardiff on Sunday.
Speaking after the victory against Ireland, the rugby superstar said his side will “dream big” in the tournament. He said: “We are ambitious anyway. We know how the tournament works and we take the games one at a time.
“We are going to Cardiff, it is always difficult going to the Principality Stadium, we have had some difficult matches. We are taking the matches one at a time, and we have to win the matches one after the other, then we are going to dream big.”