South African Player Jan-Hendrik Wessels Handed Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab
The player is ruled out for the Springboks' upcoming test matches.
Springbok prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been suspended of nine games for touching opponent Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' United Rugby Championship victory over the Irish province.
The incident happened in the early stages of the narrow victory against Connacht on last Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after striking back by hitting the South African on the head area.
Following Murphy reported the incident to the match official, the event was reviewed by the television match official, who concluded no definitive proof.
The Bulls player stayed on the field until he was substituted in the later stages of the match.
Although the United Rugby Championship confirmed that Murphy's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a governing body, Wessels was found to have breached the code of conduct, which specifies:
"A player should not do anything that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers grabbing, twisting or compressing the private areas."
The panel concluded that the incident met the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the shortest ban under international rugby rules for such an violation.
Nonetheless, the player's suspension was shortened by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior prior to and at the hearing and his good record.
The forward and the Pretoria-based team are entitled to appeal, but as it stands, the ban will prevent the 24-year-old out of the Springboks' fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, France, the Azzurri and Ireland.
Wessels will also miss the his club's league matches against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bègles and Northampton.
The prop has earned ten international appearances for the Springboks and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning squad over the summer.
Murphy, in contrast, is eligible to play against the Irish rivals in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
