South African Player Wessels Given Nine-Game Suspension for Genital Grab
The player is ruled out for South Africa's autumn internationals.
South Africa prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels faces a suspension of nine games for making contact with Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.
This event occurred in the 18th minute of the narrow victory against Connacht on Friday, with opposing player Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by hitting Wessels on the head.
Following Murphy reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the event was reviewed by the television match official, who found insufficient clear footage.
Wessels stayed on the field until he was substituted in the second half of the match.
While the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was found to have breached the code of conduct, which states:
"Any athlete should not do anything that is contrary to the principles of fair play. This includes touching, pulling or squeezing the genitals."
Disciplinary officials concluded that the event met the red card threshold and warranted a three-month ban, the minimum suspension under World Rugby regulations for such an offence.
However, Wessels' suspension was reduced by 21 days because of his cooperative behavior during the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to appeal, but currently, the suspension will rule the young player out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, Italy and the Irish team.
He will additionally be absent for the Bulls' league matches against Warriors, the Lions and the Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bordeaux and Northampton.
The prop has earned ten international appearances for South Africa and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning team over the summer.
The Connacht player, meanwhile, is available to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's domestic clash after being exonerated.