Springbok Forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels Handed Nine-Match Ban for Genital Grab
Wessels will miss for South Africa's fall fixtures.
Springbok prop Wessels faces a suspension of nine matches for making contact with opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.
This event happened in the 18th minute of the close contest against Connacht on Friday, with opposing player Josh Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after striking back by hitting the South African on the head area.
Following the Connacht player complained to referee Mike Adamson, the event was checked by the TMO, who determined insufficient clear footage.
Wessels stayed on the field until he was replaced in the later stages of the match.
While the United Rugby Championship confirmed that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was rescinded by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was deemed to have violated law 9.27, which states:
"A player must not engage in actions that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes grabbing, pulling or compressing the genitals."
Disciplinary officials determined that the event met the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the shortest ban under international rugby regulations for such an infringement.
However, the player's ban was shortened by three weeks because of his good conduct during the hearing and his good record.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team are entitled to appeal, but currently, the ban will rule the young player out of the South African national team's fall internationals against Japan, France, Italy and Ireland.
Wessels will additionally be absent for the his club's league matches against Warriors, the Lions and the Sharks, as well as European cup fixtures with Bègles and Northampton.
Wessels has won ten international appearances for South Africa and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning squad over the summer.
Murphy, meanwhile, is eligible to face Munster in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
