Springbok Forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels Receives Nine-Game Suspension for Genital Grab
The player will miss for South Africa's upcoming test matches.
Springbok front-rower Wessels has received a ban of nine matches for making contact with opponent Josh Murphy's private parts during the Blue Bulls' United Rugby Championship victory over Connacht.
The altercation occurred in the early stages of the close contest against Connacht on Friday, with opposing player Josh Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after reacting angrily by hitting the South African on the head area.
Following the Connacht player complained to the match official, the situation was examined by the television match official, who concluded insufficient clear footage.
Wessels stayed on the field until he was replaced in the second half of the match.
Although the United Rugby Championship confirmed that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a governing body, Wessels was deemed to have breached law 9.27, which specifies:
"Any athlete must not do anything that is contrary to the principles of fair play. This includes grabbing, pulling or compressing the genitals."
The panel were satisfied that the contact reached the red card threshold and warranted a three-month ban, the minimum suspension under international rugby regulations for such an infringement.
However, the player's ban was shortened by 21 days because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Bulls are entitled to appeal, but as it stands, the ban will rule the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, France, Italy and Ireland.
He will additionally be absent for the his club's league matches against Glasgow, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bègles and Northampton.
Wessels has earned ten international appearances for South Africa and was part of their tri-nations champion team over the summer.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is available to face Munster in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
