South African Forward Wessels Handed Nine-Match Suspension for Inappropriate Contact
The player is ruled out for the Springboks' fall fixtures.
Springbok prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels faces a suspension of nine matches for touching opponent Josh Murphy's private parts during the Blue Bulls' United Rugby Championship victory over the Irish province.
The altercation happened in the 18th minute of the narrow victory against Connacht on Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after reacting angrily by striking Wessels on the head area.
Following Murphy complained to referee Mike Adamson, the situation was examined by the television match official, who found no conclusive video evidence.
The Bulls player remained on the field until he was substituted in the later stages of the match.
While the United Rugby Championship announced that Murphy's 20-minute red card was overturned by a governing body, the Springbok was found to have breached the code of conduct, which states:
"Any athlete must not do anything that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes grabbing, pulling or squeezing the private areas."
The panel determined that the contact met the level for dismissal and warranted a 12-week suspension, the minimum ban under World Rugby regulations for such an violation.
Nonetheless, the player's ban was reduced by 21 days because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team are entitled to appeal, but as it stands, the ban will rule the young player out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against Japan, Les Bleus, 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 European cup games with Bordeaux and Saints.
Wessels has won ten international appearances for the Springboks and was included in their tri-nations champion team during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, meanwhile, is eligible to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's domestic clash after being cleared.
