Toulon coach Bernard Laporte was on Wednesday banned for 13 weeks for a vicious verbal tirade against a referee.
The suspension, which sees the former France coach sidelined until 13 May, was meted out by the national rugby league’s (LNR) disciplinary commission.
Toulon announced that they planned to appeal the LNR’s verdict.
Laporte found himself in the dock after seeing red at referee Laurent Cardona following Toulon’s 22-21 loss to Grenoble in the Top 14 on 4 January.
Laporte described Cardona as “hopeless” and “incompetent”.
“He robs us every time. On the game’s last move there was a strategic error, a referee error,” Laporte, who also served as a sports minister in the French government, told RMC Sport radio in the wake of the match.
“It is not just this incident where he was hopeless. He was hopeless all the matches. He is always hopeless,” he added.
European champions Toulon have also been fined €10 000 over the outburst.
His suspension bars Laporte “from the pitch, the dressing room, and the access corridors to these zones during official matches,” the LNR specified in a statement.
Toulon gave a brief reaction to the news, a statement declaring: “Toulon Rugby Club takes note of the commission’s verdict” and “will appeal this decision”.
This is the second time Laporte has been hauled over the coals for verbally abusing an official.
In 2012 he was banned for 60 days for insulting referee Romain Poite.