Springbok Player Wessels Handed Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab
The player will miss for South Africa's fall fixtures.
South Africa front-rower Wessels faces a suspension of nine games for grabbing opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' United Rugby Championship victory over the Irish province.
The altercation took place in the 18th minute of the narrow victory in Galway on Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by hitting Wessels on the head area.
After the Connacht player reported the incident to the match official, the contact was reviewed by the TMO, who concluded no conclusive video evidence.
The Bulls player stayed on the field until he was replaced in the second half of the game.
While the United Rugby Championship confirmed that Murphy's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a governing body, Wessels was deemed to have violated law 9.27, which declares:
"Any athlete must not engage in actions that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes touching, twisting or squeezing the private areas."
Disciplinary officials determined that the event met the red card threshold and warranted a 12-week suspension, the shortest suspension under international rugby regulations for such an violation.
However, Wessels' suspension was shortened by 21 days because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his good record.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to challenge the decision, but currently, the ban will rule the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's fall internationals against Japan, Les Bleus, Italy and the Irish team.
Wessels will also miss the Bulls' league matches against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bègles and Saints.
The prop has won 10 caps for the Springboks and was part of their tri-nations champion team during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is eligible to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's domestic clash after being cleared.
