Video: Bastareaud could face serious ban after attack on Castres lock

France international centre Mathieu Bastareaud could face a lengthy ban for a vicious attack on Castres lock Christophe Samson during their Top 14 match on Sunday.

The Toulon man hit Samson across the head with his forearm, earning him a straight red card in the process.

It happened in the 69th minute with Samson lying on the ground. One commentator described it as "bordering on assualt".

Samson was not completely blameless, hitting Bastareaud from an offside position at a ruck and received a yellow card as a result. But it is the retribution by the Toulon captain that is set to land him in hot water with the authorities.

Despite being a man down Toulon managed to defeat the current champions 28-27.

It's not the first time that Bastareaud has been in trouble with the authorities, most recently in January when he picked up a three week ban for using a homophobic slur during a Champions Cup match against Benetton Rugby at Stade Félix Mayol.

He missed France’s opening game of the 2018 Natwest Six Nations against Ireland as a result.

Bastareaud was cited by the match Citing Commissioner, Dennis Jones for verbally abusing the Benetton Rugby flanker, Sebastian Negri Da Oleggio, in the 80th minute of the match in contravention of Law 9.12.

The ref mic picked up Bastareaud calling Negri a ‘f***ing f****t’ which caused a storm of criticism for the player.

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