Springbok Forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels Handed Nine-Game Suspension for Genital Grab
The player is ruled out for the Springboks' autumn internationals.
South Africa prop Wessels has received a ban of nine games for grabbing Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' URC win over Connacht.
The incident took place in the early stages of the narrow victory against Connacht on Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after striking back by hitting Wessels on the head area.
After Murphy reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the situation was checked by the TMO, who determined insufficient clear footage.
Wessels stayed on the pitch until he was replaced in the second half of the match.
Although the URC confirmed that Murphy's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was deemed to have breached the code of conduct, which specifies:
"Any athlete should not engage in actions that is against the principles of fair play. This includes touching, pulling or compressing the genitals."
Disciplinary officials determined that the event met the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the minimum suspension under international rugby regulations for such an violation.
However, Wessels' suspension was shortened by three weeks because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his good record.
Wessels and the Bulls are entitled to appeal, but currently, the suspension will prevent the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, France, the Azzurri and the Irish team.
He will also miss the Bulls' league matches against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bègles and Saints.
Wessels has earned 10 caps for the Springboks and was included in their tri-nations champion team during the recent tournament.
Murphy, meanwhile, is eligible to face the Irish rivals in this weekend's domestic clash after being exonerated.
