South African Forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels Receives Nine-Match Ban for Genital Grab
The player will be unavailable for South Africa's upcoming test matches.
South Africa front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been suspended of nine games for touching opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' United Rugby Championship win over the Irish province.
The incident occurred in the 18th minute of the close contest against Connacht on last Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after striking back by hitting Wessels on the head area.
After the Connacht player reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the event was checked by the television match official, who concluded no conclusive video evidence.
The Bulls player remained on the field until he was replaced in the later stages of the game.
While the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a governing body, Wessels was deemed to have violated law 9.27, which specifies:
"A player should not do anything that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers touching, pulling or compressing the genitals."
Disciplinary officials concluded that the event met the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the minimum suspension under international rugby regulations for such an offence.
However, Wessels' suspension was shortened by 21 days because of his cooperative behavior during the hearing and his good record.
The forward and the Bulls have the right to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the suspension will prevent the 24-year-old out of the Springboks' fall internationals against Japan, France, the Azzurri and the Irish team.
Wessels will also miss the Bulls' league matches against Glasgow, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup fixtures with Bordeaux and Northampton.
Wessels has won 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning squad over the summer.
The Connacht player, meanwhile, is available to play against Munster in this weekend's domestic clash after being cleared.
