South African Player Jan-Hendrik Wessels Given Nine-Game Ban for Inappropriate Contact
Wessels is ruled out for South Africa's autumn internationals.
Springbok prop Wessels has received a ban of nine games for grabbing opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.
This event occurred in the early stages of the close contest against Connacht on Friday, with opposing player Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after striking back by hitting the South African on the head area.
Following the Connacht player complained to the match official, the event was examined by the television match official, who concluded insufficient clear footage.
The Bulls player stayed on the pitch 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While the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a governing body, the Springbok was deemed to have violated the code of conduct, which declares:
"Any athlete should not engage in actions that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers touching, twisting or squeezing the genitals."
The panel determined that the incident met the red card threshold and justified a three-month ban, the shortest ban under international rugby rules for such an violation.
Nonetheless, the player's suspension was shortened by 21 days because of his good conduct prior to and at the proceedings and his good record.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team are entitled to challenge the decision, but currently, the suspension will rule the young player out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against Japan, Les Bleus, the Azzurri and the Irish team.
Wessels will additionally be absent for the his club's league matches against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bordeaux and Northampton.
Wessels has won 10 caps for the Springboks and was included in their Rugby Championship-winning team over the summer.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is available to play against Munster in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
