South African Forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels Handed Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab
The player will miss for South Africa's upcoming test matches.
Springbok front-rower Wessels has been suspended of nine matches for making contact with Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' URC win over Connacht.
This event happened in the early stages of the narrow victory in Galway on Friday, with opposing player Josh Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after striking back by striking the South African on the head area.
Following the Connacht player complained to the match official, the contact was reviewed by the television match official, who determined no definitive proof.
The Bulls player stayed on the field until he was substituted in the second half of the game.
Although the United Rugby Championship confirmed that Murphy's 20-minute red card was rescinded by a governing body, Wessels was deemed to have violated law 9.27, which specifies:
"A player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers touching, twisting or compressing the genitals."
The panel concluded that the incident met the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the minimum ban under international rugby rules for such an offence.
Nonetheless, Wessels' 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 are entitled to challenge the decision, but currently, the suspension will prevent the young player out of the Springboks' autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, France, Italy and Ireland.
Wessels will additionally be absent for the Bulls' URC games against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bordeaux and Saints.
The prop has earned ten international appearances for South Africa and was included in their Rugby Championship-winning squad during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is available to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's domestic clash after being exonerated.
