Mathieu Bastareaud

The 31-year-old, who played 54 times for France and won three European Cup titles with Toulon, raised eyebrows when he quit Toulon for New York.

After playing just five games for the Major League Rugby side, the coronavirus pandemic saw the rest of the American season scrapped.

Bastareaud had a short stint with Lyon as a 'joker' at the start of this campaign, with the club missing players due to the World Cup in Japan.

"I wanted to discover something new abroad," said Bastareaud, who is expected to arrive in France in a few days' time.

Bastareaud, 29, apologised after the match but will face disciplinary action and, if found guilty, would face a minimum ban of six weeks.

The incident occurred in the last minute of a 36-0 Toulon victory in which Bastareaud scored a try.

He tweeted: "I want to apologise for my reaction to the player's insults."

The centre, who has won 42 France caps, added: "I reacted badly in responding to his provocation, I'm sincerely saddened that I could have hurt people."