South African Forward Wessels Receives Nine-Match Ban for Inappropriate Contact
Wessels will be unavailable for the Springboks' fall fixtures.
South Africa prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been suspended of nine matches for making contact with opponent Josh Murphy's private parts during the Blue Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.
This event happened in the early stages of the Bulls' 28-27 win in Galway on last Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy receiving a 20-minute red card after striking back by hitting Wessels on the head.
After Murphy complained to referee Mike Adamson, the contact was examined by the TMO, who concluded no definitive proof.
Wessels stayed on the field until he was replaced in the second half of the game.
While the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was overturned by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was deemed to have breached law 9.27, which states:
"Any athlete must not do anything that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers touching, twisting or compressing the genitals."
The panel determined that the event reached the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the minimum ban under international rugby regulations for such an offence.
Nonetheless, Wessels' ban was reduced by 21 days because of his cooperative behavior during the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Bulls are entitled to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the ban will rule the young player out of the Springboks' fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, Italy and Ireland.
Wessels will additionally be absent for the Bulls' league matches against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bègles and Northampton.
Wessels has earned 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning team during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, meanwhile, is eligible to play against Munster in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
