Springbok Player Wessels Receives Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab
The player will be unavailable for South Africa's autumn internationals.
South Africa front-rower Wessels faces a suspension of nine games for grabbing opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' URC victory over the Irish province.
The altercation occurred in the 18th minute of the close contest in Galway on last Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after striking back by striking the South African on the head area.
After Murphy reported the incident to the match official, the event was examined by the television match official, who determined no conclusive video evidence.
The Bulls player remained on the field until he was substituted in the second half of the game.
Although the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was overturned by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was found to have breached the code of conduct, which specifies:
"Any athlete must not do anything that is against the principles of fair play. This includes grabbing, pulling or squeezing the genitals."
Disciplinary officials concluded that the contact met the level for dismissal and warranted a three-month ban, the shortest suspension under World Rugby regulations for such an infringement.
Nonetheless, Wessels' suspension was reduced by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior prior to and at the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.
The forward and the Bulls have the right to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the suspension will prevent the young player out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, the Azzurri and the Irish team.
Wessels will additionally be absent for the Bulls' league matches against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bordeaux and Northampton.
The prop has earned ten international appearances for South Africa and was included in their tri-nations champion team over the summer.
The Connacht player, meanwhile, is eligible to face the Irish rivals in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.
