South African Player Wessels Handed Nine-Game Suspension for Genital Grab
Wessels is ruled out for the Springboks' autumn internationals.
Springbok prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been suspended of nine games for touching opponent Josh Murphy's private parts during the Blue Bulls' United Rugby Championship win over Connacht.
This event happened in the early stages of the narrow victory against Connacht on Friday, with opposing player Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after reacting angrily by striking the South African on the head area.
Following Murphy complained to referee Mike Adamson, the situation was reviewed by the television match official, who found no definitive proof.
The Bulls player remained on the pitch 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While the United Rugby Championship confirmed that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was rescinded by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was deemed to have breached law 9.27, which states:
"Any athlete should not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes grabbing, twisting or squeezing the private areas."
Disciplinary officials were satisfied that the incident reached the red card threshold and warranted a 12-week suspension, the shortest suspension under World Rugby rules for such an violation.
However, Wessels' suspension 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 challenge the decision, but currently, the ban will rule the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, the Azzurri and Ireland.
Wessels will also miss the his club's league matches against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bordeaux and Northampton.
The prop has won 10 caps for the Springboks and was part of their tri-nations champion squad during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is eligible to face the Irish rivals in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.
