The Toulon captain, Mathieu Bastareaud, could face a lengthy suspension after he was cited for alleged verbal abuse following television footage which appeared to show him uttering a homophobic slur at an opponent during his side’s Champions Cup win over Benetton.

In the final minute of Toulon’s 36-0 win on Sunday Bastareaud appeared to call Sebastian Negri a “fucking faggot”. The relevant World Rugby regulation states that “verbal abuse includes, but is not limited to abuse based on: religion, colour, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation”. The minimum ban for verbal abuse is six weeks – the maximum is 12 months – and so, if Bastareaud is sanctioned, his participation for France during the Six Nations would be placed in jeopardy.

Bastareuad took to Twitter on Sunday evening to apologise for what he described as his “reaction to the insults of the Italian player” and his “bad reaction in response to the provocation”. Soon after however, European Professional Club Rugby, the governing body that runs the Champions Cup, confirmed that Bastareaud had been cited and will face a disciplinary hearing this week. During the incident, Bastareaud appeared to react as if provoked so it remains to be seen if any Benetton players will also be sanctioned.

In March 2015 the Waratahs forward Jacques Potgieter was fined $20,000 by the Australian union for a homophobic slur in a Super Rugby match against the Brumbies after it was brought to the attention of officials by David Pocock.