South African Player Jan-Hendrik Wessels Handed Nine-Match Suspension for Inappropriate Contact
The player will miss for South Africa's upcoming test matches.
Springbok prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels faces a suspension of nine games for touching opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.
The incident took place in the 18th minute of the narrow victory in Galway on last Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after responding aggressively by hitting the South African on the head.
After Murphy complained to referee Mike Adamson, the contact was reviewed by the TMO, who found no conclusive video evidence.
The Bulls player stayed on the pitch until he was substituted in the later stages of the match.
Although the URC confirmed that Murphy's temporary sending-off was rescinded by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was found to have breached the code of conduct, which declares:
"A player should not do anything that is against the principles of fair play. Such behavior covers grabbing, twisting or compressing the genitals."
The panel were satisfied that the incident reached the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the minimum ban under international rugby rules for such an offence.
However, the player's suspension was shortened by three weeks because of his good conduct prior to and at the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
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 Springboks' autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, the Azzurri and Ireland.
He will also miss the Bulls' league matches against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions 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.
Murphy, in contrast, is eligible to play against Munster in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.
