Springbok Forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels Given Nine-Match Suspension for Inappropriate Contact
The player will be unavailable for South Africa's upcoming test matches.
South Africa front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels has received a ban of nine matches for grabbing Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' URC win over Connacht.
The incident took place in the early stages of the narrow victory against Connacht on Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by striking the South African on the head.
After Murphy complained to the match official, the event was examined by the TMO, who concluded insufficient clear footage.
The Bulls player stayed on the pitch until he was substituted in the later stages of the game.
Although the URC confirmed that Murphy's 20-minute red card was withdrawn by a governing body, the Springbok was found to have violated law 9.27, which declares:
"Any athlete should not do anything that is against the principles of fair play. This includes grabbing, pulling or compressing the genitals."
Disciplinary officials were satisfied that the contact met the level for dismissal and warranted a three-month ban, the minimum suspension under international rugby regulations for such an violation.
However, Wessels' suspension was reduced by 21 days because of his cooperative behavior prior to and at the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team are entitled to challenge the decision, but currently, the suspension 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.
He will additionally be absent for the his club's league matches against Warriors, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bordeaux and Northampton.
Wessels has won ten international appearances for South Africa and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning squad during the recent tournament.
Murphy, meanwhile, is available to face the Irish rivals in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.
