South African Player Jan-Hendrik Wessels Handed Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab
The player will be unavailable for South Africa's autumn internationals.
South Africa prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels faces a suspension of nine games for making contact with opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.
The incident occurred in the 18th minute of the Bulls' 28-27 win against Connacht on Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after reacting angrily by striking Wessels on the head area.
Following Murphy reported the incident to the match official, the event was examined by the television match official, who concluded no conclusive video evidence.
The Bulls player stayed on the field until he was substituted in the second half of the match.
While the United Rugby Championship confirmed that Murphy's 20-minute red card was withdrawn by a governing body, Wessels was found to have breached law 9.27, which states:
"A player should not engage in actions that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes grabbing, pulling or squeezing the private areas."
The panel were satisfied that the event met the red card threshold and warranted a three-month ban, the shortest ban under international rugby regulations for such an infringement.
However, the player's suspension was shortened by three weeks because of his good conduct prior to and at the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team are entitled to challenge the decision, but currently, the suspension will prevent the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's fall internationals against Japan, France, the Azzurri and Ireland.
He will additionally be absent for the his club's URC games against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bègles and Northampton.
The prop has won 10 caps for South Africa and was included in their tri-nations champion team during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, meanwhile, is available to play against the Irish rivals in this weekend's domestic clash after being exonerated.
