South African Forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels Receives Nine-Game Suspension for Genital Grab
The player is ruled out for South Africa's upcoming test matches.
South Africa prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels faces a suspension of nine games for grabbing Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' United Rugby Championship win over the Irish province.
The incident took place in the 18th minute of the close contest in Galway on last Friday, with opposing player Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after responding aggressively by striking the South African on the head.
After the Connacht player complained to the match official, the event was checked by the television match official, who determined no definitive proof.
The Bulls player stayed on the field until he was replaced in the later stages of the match.
While the URC confirmed that Murphy's 20-minute red card was overturned by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was found to have violated law 9.27, which declares:
"A player must not engage in actions that is contrary to the principles of fair play. This includes grabbing, pulling or compressing the private areas."
The panel were satisfied that the event met the level for dismissal and justified a 12-week suspension, the minimum suspension under international rugby rules for such an violation.
Nonetheless, the player's ban was shortened by three weeks because of his good conduct prior to and at the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the suspension will rule the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's fall internationals against Japan, France, Italy and the Irish team.
Wessels will additionally be absent for the Bulls' URC games against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bègles and Saints.
The prop has earned 10 caps for the Springboks and was part of their tri-nations champion team during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is eligible to face the Irish rivals in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.
