Springbok Forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels Receives Nine-Game Suspension for Genital Grab
The player is ruled out for the Springboks' upcoming test matches.
South Africa prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels has received a ban of nine matches for making contact with opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' URC win over Connacht.
The incident occurred in the early stages of the close contest against Connacht on Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by hitting the South African on the head.
After Murphy complained to the match official, the event was examined by the television match official, who found insufficient clear footage.
Wessels remained on the field until he was replaced in the later stages of the match.
Although the URC announced that the Irish player's 20-minute red card was overturned by a governing body, Wessels was deemed to have violated the code of conduct, which declares:
"A player should not engage in actions that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes touching, twisting or compressing the private areas."
The panel determined that the contact met the level for dismissal and warranted a 12-week suspension, the minimum suspension under international rugby rules for such an offence.
Nonetheless, Wessels' ban was shortened by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior prior to and at the proceedings and his good record.
Wessels and the Bulls are entitled to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the suspension will prevent the young player out of the South African national team's fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, the Azzurri and the Irish team.
He will additionally be absent for the Bulls' URC games against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bordeaux and Northampton.
Wessels has earned 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their tri-nations champion team during the recent tournament.
Murphy, in contrast, is eligible to play against Munster in this weekend's domestic clash after being cleared.
