South African Forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels Handed Nine-Game Suspension for Genital Grab
Wessels will miss for the Springboks' upcoming test matches.
South Africa prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels faces a suspension of nine games for touching Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' URC victory over Connacht.
This event took place in the early stages of the close contest in Galway on Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after reacting angrily by striking Wessels on the head.
After the Connacht player reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the situation was reviewed by the TMO, who determined insufficient clear footage.
The Bulls player remained on the pitch until he was replaced in the second half of the game.
Although the United Rugby Championship announced that Murphy's 20-minute red card was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was deemed to have violated law 9.27, which specifies:
"A player must not engage in actions that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers touching, pulling or squeezing the genitals."
The panel determined that the event met the red card threshold and warranted a three-month ban, the shortest suspension under international rugby rules for such an offence.
However, Wessels' suspension was reduced by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior during the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Bulls are entitled to appeal, but currently, the ban will rule the 24-year-old out of the Springboks' autumn Tests against Japan, Les Bleus, Italy and Ireland.
He will additionally be absent for the Bulls' URC games against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bordeaux and Saints.
The prop has won 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their tri-nations champion squad during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is available to face Munster in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.
