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Six foot five, 120kg Samoan international handed lengthy ban for this red card tip tackle
Samoan test regular Piula Fa’asalele has been handed a seven-week ban in France for dangerous play.
The 30-year-old Toulouse flanker appeared before the French judiciary this week after receiving a red card for a reckless tip tackle against Montpellier on September 23.
Fa’asalele was sent off just 16 minutes into the match lifting Gabriel Ngandebe above horizontal, causing his head to hit the ground.
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The judicial panel initially considered an 11-week sanction but opted for seven weeks after considering remorse shown by Fa’asalele and his admission of fault.
Fa’asalele was born in Wellington and raised in South Auckland. His professional career began in 2008 when he joined French club Niort.
Fa’asalele has been with Toulouse since 2016 after stints with La Rochelle and Castres.
He will miss four Top 14 rounds and Toulouse’s first two Champions Cup games before the ban is lifted in late November.
Toulouse are currently eighth in the French Top 14 standings.
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