South African Forward Wessels Receives Nine-Game Suspension for Inappropriate Contact
Wessels will miss for the Springboks' autumn internationals.
South Africa prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels faces a suspension of nine games for touching Josh Murphy's private parts during the Blue Bulls' URC win over Connacht.
The incident happened in the early stages of the close contest in Galway on Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after striking back by striking Wessels on the head.
After the Connacht player reported the incident to the match official, the contact was examined 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Although the United Rugby Championship confirmed that Murphy's temporary sending-off was rescinded by a governing body, Wessels was found to have breached law 9.27, which states:
"A player should not do anything that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes touching, twisting or squeezing the genitals."
The panel concluded that the incident reached the level for dismissal and warranted a 12-week suspension, the minimum suspension under international rugby rules for such an offence.
However, Wessels' suspension was reduced by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior during the proceedings and his good record.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team are entitled to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the suspension will rule the 24-year-old out of the Springboks' fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, France, Italy and the Irish team.
Wessels will additionally be absent for the Bulls' URC games against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bègles and Northampton.
The prop has won 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning team during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, meanwhile, is available to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's domestic clash after being exonerated.
