South African Player Jan-Hendrik Wessels Given Nine-Game Suspension for Inappropriate Contact
The player is ruled out for South Africa's fall fixtures.
South Africa prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels has received a ban of nine matches for touching Josh Murphy's private parts during the Blue Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.
The altercation happened in the 18th minute of the narrow victory against Connacht on Friday, with opposing player Josh Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after striking back by striking the South African on the head area.
Following Murphy reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the event was checked by the TMO, who concluded insufficient clear footage.
Wessels stayed on the field until he was substituted in the second half of the match.
While the URC announced that the Irish player's 20-minute red card was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was found to have breached the code of conduct, which specifies:
"A player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes grabbing, pulling or squeezing the private areas."
Disciplinary officials concluded that the event reached the red card threshold and warranted a 12-week suspension, the minimum suspension under international rugby rules for such an violation.
However, Wessels' suspension was shortened by three weeks because of his good conduct prior to and at the proceedings and his good record.
The forward and the Pretoria-based team have the right to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the ban will rule the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, France, Italy and the Irish team.
Wessels will additionally be absent for the Bulls' league matches against Glasgow, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bègles and Northampton.
Wessels has earned ten international appearances for South Africa and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning squad during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, meanwhile, is eligible to face Munster in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.
