Springbok Player Wessels Given Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab
Wessels is ruled out for the Springboks' fall fixtures.
Springbok front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been suspended of nine games for grabbing Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.
The incident occurred in the early stages of the close contest against Connacht on last Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy receiving a 20-minute red card after responding aggressively by hitting the South African on the head.
After the Connacht player reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the situation was checked by the television match official, who determined insufficient clear footage.
The Bulls player remained on the pitch until he was replaced in the later stages of the match.
Although the United Rugby Championship confirmed that Murphy's 20-minute red card was overturned by a governing body, the Springbok was found to have breached law 9.27, which specifies:
"Any athlete must not do anything that is contrary to the principles of fair play. This includes touching, twisting or squeezing the genitals."
The panel concluded that the contact reached the red card threshold and warranted a three-month ban, the shortest ban under World Rugby regulations for such an offence.
Nonetheless, the player's ban was reduced by 21 days because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the suspension will prevent the 24-year-old out of the Springboks' fall internationals against Japan, France, Italy and the Irish team.
He will additionally be absent for the Bulls' league matches against Glasgow, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bègles and Northampton.
The prop has earned 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their tri-nations champion team during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is available to face Munster in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.
