South African Player Jan-Hendrik Wessels Handed Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab
The player will be unavailable for the Springboks' upcoming test matches.
South Africa prop Wessels has received a ban of nine games for grabbing opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' United Rugby Championship victory over Connacht.
This event happened in the early stages of the Bulls' 28-27 win in Galway on last Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after striking back by hitting Wessels on the head area.
After the Connacht player reported the incident to the match official, the contact was checked by the television match official, who concluded no definitive proof.
Wessels remained on the pitch until he was substituted in the later stages of the game.
While the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's 20-minute red card was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was found to have breached law 9.27, which declares:
"Any athlete should not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers grabbing, pulling or compressing the private areas."
The panel determined that the contact met the level for dismissal and justified a three-month ban, the shortest ban under World Rugby regulations for such an violation.
Nonetheless, the player's suspension was reduced by 21 days because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
The forward and the Pretoria-based team have the right to challenge the decision, but currently, the ban will prevent the young player out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against Japan, France, Italy and the Irish team.
Wessels will also miss the Bulls' URC games against Glasgow, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bègles and Saints.
The prop has earned ten international appearances for the Springboks and was included in their tri-nations champion team over the summer.
Murphy, meanwhile, is eligible to play against Munster in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
