Springbok Player Jan-Hendrik Wessels Handed Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab
The player will be unavailable for the Springboks' fall fixtures.
South Africa front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been suspended of nine matches for making contact with Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' URC victory over the Irish province.
The incident occurred in the early stages of the narrow victory in Galway on Friday, with opposing player Josh Murphy receiving a 20-minute red card after responding aggressively by striking Wessels on the head.
After Murphy complained to the match official, the event was examined by the TMO, who determined no definitive proof.
The Bulls player stayed on the field until he was replaced in the second half of the game.
While the United Rugby Championship confirmed that Murphy's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was deemed to have violated the code of conduct, which specifies:
"A player should not do anything that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes touching, pulling or compressing the private areas."
Disciplinary officials were satisfied that the contact reached the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the minimum suspension under World Rugby rules for such an offence.
However, Wessels' ban was reduced by 21 days because of his cooperative behavior during the proceedings and his good record.
Wessels and the Bulls have the right to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the ban will rule the young player out of the South African national team's fall internationals against Japan, France, Italy and Ireland.
Wessels will additionally be absent for the his club's league matches against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bordeaux and Saints.
Wessels has won ten international appearances for the Springboks and was included in their tri-nations champion squad during the recent tournament.
Murphy, meanwhile, is available to play against Munster in Saturday's domestic clash after being cleared.
