South African Player Wessels Receives Nine-Match Ban for Genital Grab
The player will be unavailable for the Springboks' upcoming test matches.
South Africa front-rower Wessels has received a ban of nine matches for touching opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' United Rugby Championship win over the Irish province.
The altercation happened in the 18th minute of the narrow victory in Galway on last Friday, with opposing player Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after reacting angrily by striking Wessels on the head area.
Following Murphy reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the contact was checked by the television match official, who concluded insufficient clear footage.
The Bulls player remained on the field until he was replaced in the second half of the game.
While the URC announced that Murphy's 20-minute red card was rescinded by a governing body, the Springbok was found to have breached law 9.27, which declares:
"A player should not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes touching, twisting or compressing the genitals."
The panel concluded that the event reached the level for dismissal and justified a 12-week suspension, the shortest suspension under World Rugby regulations for such an violation.
Nonetheless, the player's ban was shortened by 21 days because of his cooperative behavior during the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to appeal, but as it stands, the suspension will prevent the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, the Azzurri and Ireland.
He will additionally be absent for the Bulls' URC games against Warriors, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bordeaux and Saints.
Wessels has won ten international appearances for the Springboks and was included in their tri-nations champion squad over the summer.
Murphy, in contrast, is eligible to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.
