South African Forward Wessels Receives Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab
Wessels will miss for the Springboks' autumn internationals.
South Africa front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels has received a ban of nine matches for making contact with opponent Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' URC victory over the Irish province.
The incident took place in the 18th minute of the close contest against Connacht on last Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after reacting angrily by striking Wessels on the head.
Following Murphy reported the incident to the match official, the situation was reviewed by the TMO, who determined no conclusive video evidence.
Wessels stayed on the field until he was replaced in the second half of the game.
While the United Rugby Championship confirmed that Murphy's temporary sending-off was rescinded by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was deemed to have breached law 9.27, which specifies:
"Any athlete should not engage in actions that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers grabbing, twisting or compressing the genitals."
Disciplinary officials were satisfied that the contact reached the red card threshold and justified a three-month ban, the shortest suspension under international rugby regulations for such an infringement.
However, Wessels' ban was shortened by 21 days because of his good conduct during the hearing and his good record.
The forward and the Pretoria-based team have the right to appeal, but currently, the ban will rule the young player out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against Japan, France, the Azzurri and Ireland.
He will also miss the his club's league matches against Glasgow, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bordeaux and Northampton.
Wessels has earned ten international appearances for the Springboks and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning team during the recent tournament.
Murphy, meanwhile, is eligible to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
