South African Forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels Receives Nine-Game Ban for Inappropriate Contact
The player will miss for the Springboks' fall fixtures.
South Africa prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been suspended of nine games for touching opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' URC win over Connacht.
The altercation occurred in the early stages of the narrow victory in Galway on last Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by striking Wessels on the head.
After Murphy complained to the match official, the situation was checked by the television match official, who found insufficient clear footage.
The Bulls player remained on the pitch until he was substituted in the second half of the game.
Although the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's 20-minute red card was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was deemed to have breached the code of conduct, which specifies:
"Any athlete must not do anything that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes grabbing, twisting or squeezing the genitals."
The panel concluded that the event met the red card threshold and justified a three-month ban, the minimum ban under international rugby rules for such an infringement.
However, Wessels' ban was shortened by 21 days because of his good conduct during the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Bulls have the right to challenge the decision, but currently, the ban will rule the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, the Azzurri and Ireland.
He will additionally be absent for the his club's league matches against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bordeaux and Saints.
Wessels has won ten international appearances for the Springboks and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning squad over the summer.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is eligible to play against Munster in Saturday's domestic clash after being exonerated.
