South African Player Jan-Hendrik Wessels Given Nine-Match Suspension for Inappropriate Contact
The player will be unavailable for South Africa's upcoming test matches.
Springbok front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been suspended of nine games for making contact with opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.
This event took place in the 18th minute of the narrow victory against Connacht on last Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by hitting the South African on the head.
After Murphy reported the incident to the match official, the contact was reviewed by the television match official, who found no conclusive video evidence.
Wessels remained on the field until he was replaced in the later stages of the game.
While the United Rugby Championship confirmed that the Irish player's 20-minute red card was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was deemed to have breached the code of conduct, which states:
"Any athlete should not do anything that is contrary to the principles of fair play. This includes touching, pulling or compressing the genitals."
Disciplinary officials concluded that the contact met the red card threshold and justified a three-month ban, the minimum suspension under international rugby regulations for such an violation.
However, Wessels' ban was reduced by 21 days because of his cooperative behavior during the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.
The forward and the Bulls have the right to appeal, but as it stands, the suspension will rule the young player out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, France, Italy and the Irish team.
Wessels will additionally be absent for the his club's URC games against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bègles and Saints.
Wessels has won ten international appearances for the Springboks and was included in their Rugby Championship-winning team during the recent tournament.
Murphy, in contrast, is eligible to play against Munster in this weekend's domestic clash after being cleared.
