South African Forward Wessels Receives Nine-Game Suspension for Genital Grab
The player will be unavailable for South Africa's upcoming test matches.
Springbok front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels faces a suspension of nine matches for grabbing Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' URC win over Connacht.
The altercation took place in the 18th minute of the Bulls' 28-27 win in Galway on Friday, with opposing player Josh Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by striking Wessels on the head area.
After the Connacht player reported the incident to the match official, the contact was checked by the TMO, who found no definitive proof.
The Bulls player stayed on the field until he was substituted in the later stages of the game.
While the United Rugby Championship confirmed that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was overturned by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was found to have breached the code of conduct, which declares:
"Any athlete must not engage in actions that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers grabbing, twisting or squeezing the genitals."
The panel were satisfied that the contact met the level for dismissal and warranted a three-month ban, the shortest suspension under international rugby rules for such an violation.
Nonetheless, the player's ban was shortened by 21 days because of his cooperative behavior during the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to appeal, but as it stands, the ban will prevent the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, France, the Azzurri and Ireland.
He will also miss the Bulls' league matches against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bordeaux and Saints.
Wessels has earned ten international appearances for the Springboks and was part of their tri-nations champion team during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is available to face the Irish rivals in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.
