Martin Castrogiovanni has been handed a suspended four match sentence and ordered to donate €10,000 to charity as a result of his now infamous impromptu press conference following Leicester's win over Toulon at the start of the month.
In a statement the ERC outlined the terms of his punishment.
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.
Now obviously €10,000 is a lot of money but can you really put a price on the entertainment he gave to rugby fans everywhere? We're with you Castro, in spirit of course. Having said that, he did pay Leicester £100,000 just to let him go to Toulon so hopefully the fine charitable donation won't be too much of a burden.
Thankfully some semblance of sense prevailed with the committee's decision to clear the Italian international regarding his comments which suggested Leicester were an 'amateur' club were made 'in an ironic and questioning manner, and therefore did not constitute criticism'.
A statement from the Toulon man made clear that he fully accepts the committee's findings and he stressed his continued affinity with Leicester Tigers.
Martin is relieved that the panel accepted his explanation as to his remarks, since he has always had and continues to have a strong love for the club.
He was genuinely remorseful for his comments after the match and this is reflected in the panel's sanctioning.
Picture credit: Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
