Springbok Player Jan-Hendrik Wessels Receives Nine-Match Ban for Genital Grab
The player will be unavailable for the Springboks' fall fixtures.
South Africa front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been suspended of nine games for making contact with Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.
The altercation happened in the early stages of the Bulls' 28-27 win in Galway on last Friday, with opposing player Josh Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by hitting the South African on the head.
Following Murphy reported the incident to the match official, the situation was examined by the television match official, who found no definitive proof.
The Bulls player stayed on the pitch until he was replaced in the second half of the match.
While the URC confirmed that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was overturned by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was found to have violated the code of conduct, which specifies:
"A player should not engage in actions that is contrary to the principles of fair play. Such behavior covers touching, twisting or compressing the private areas."
The panel determined that the incident reached the red card threshold and justified a three-month ban, the shortest ban under international rugby rules for such an violation.
Nonetheless, Wessels' suspension was reduced by three weeks because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his good record.
The forward and the Pretoria-based team are entitled to challenge the decision, but currently, the suspension will rule the young player out of the South African national team's fall internationals against Japan, Les Bleus, Italy and Ireland.
Wessels will additionally be absent for the his club's URC games against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bègles and Northampton.
Wessels has earned 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 Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
