Springbok Player Wessels Receives Nine-Game Ban for Genital Grab
The player will miss for South Africa's fall fixtures.
South Africa front-rower Wessels has received a ban of nine games for touching Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.
This event took place in the 18th minute of the Bulls' 28-27 win against Connacht on last Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after reacting angrily by hitting the South African on the head.
Following Murphy complained to referee Mike Adamson, the event was checked by the TMO, who found no conclusive video evidence.
Wessels stayed on the field until he was substituted in the later stages of the game.
Although the United Rugby Championship confirmed that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a governing body, the Springbok was deemed to have breached law 9.27, which declares:
"Any athlete should not engage in actions that is contrary to the principles of fair play. Such behavior covers grabbing, pulling or compressing the genitals."
Disciplinary officials determined that the event met the level for dismissal and justified a three-month ban, the shortest ban under World Rugby regulations for such an infringement.
Nonetheless, Wessels' suspension was shortened by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior prior to and at the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
The forward and the Bulls are entitled to challenge the decision, but currently, the suspension will rule the young player out of the Springboks' fall internationals against Japan, France, Italy and the Irish team.
Wessels will also miss the his club's URC games against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bègles and Saints.
Wessels has won ten international appearances for the Springboks and was included in their Rugby Championship-winning squad during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, meanwhile, is eligible to face the Irish rivals in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
