Toulon prop Martin Castrogiovanni has received a suspended four-match ban and a €10,000 fine for his rant about Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill.

Castrogiovanni appeared before an independent disciplinary committee in London on Wednesday where he was charged with misconduct. The misconduct complaint centred around the comments made by Castrogiovanni to the media in which he launched into a foul-mouth tirade aimed at Leicester and their director of rugby, Richard Cockerill.

Castrogiovanni, who apologised following the outburst, pleaded guilty to the charges. The independent disciplinary found that Castrogiovanni was guilty of misconduct and that the comments made were utterly indefensible, although they accepted that Castrogiovanni's comments regarding Leicester Tigers being 'amateur' were made in an ironic and questioning manner, and therefore did not constitute criticism.

Castrogiovanni was ordered to pay €10,000 to a charity in the city of Leicester and was banned for four matches with the ban suspended until 30 April 2016.

The ban will be activated in the event of any off-field misconduct complaint being successfully brought against him. He was also ordered to pay the legal costs for the proceedings.

Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images