Italy captain Sergio Parisse will miss the rest of this season’s Six Nations after being banned for insulting a referee.
The Stade Francais No8 was given a 40-day punishment by French league disciplinary chiefs — 10 days of which were suspended — after he was sent off for swearing at Laurent Cardona during last week’s game against Bordeaux-Begles.
That ban also applies to internationals, ruling him out of Saturday’s match against Wales in Rome and next month’s clashes against England and Ireland.
His absence is a hammer-blow for the Azzurri, with coach Jacques Brunel now forced into a back-row reshuffle and appointing a new skipper. Brunel had already called 93 times-capped Mauro Bergamasco into his 31-man squad.
Parisse (above) denied the charge and has until Saturday to lodge an appeal.
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