Springbok Player Wessels Receives Nine-Match Ban for Genital Grab
The player will be unavailable for South Africa's autumn internationals.
Springbok front-rower Wessels faces a suspension of nine games for making contact with Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' United Rugby Championship win over the Irish province.
The altercation took place in the 18th minute of the Bulls' 28-27 win against Connacht on Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after striking back by hitting the South African on the head area.
Following the Connacht player reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the situation was checked by the TMO, who concluded no conclusive video evidence.
The Bulls player stayed on the field until he was replaced in the later stages of the game.
While the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's 20-minute red card was rescinded by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was found to have breached the code of conduct, which specifies:
"A player must not do anything that is against the principles of fair play. This includes touching, pulling or squeezing the private areas."
The panel determined that the contact met the level for dismissal and justified a three-month ban, the shortest suspension under World Rugby regulations for such an offence.
However, Wessels' suspension was shortened by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior during the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to challenge the decision, but currently, the ban will rule the young player out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, France, the Azzurri and the Irish team.
Wessels will also miss the Bulls' league matches against Warriors, the Lions and the Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bordeaux and Northampton.
Wessels has won 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their tri-nations champion squad over the summer.
The Connacht player, meanwhile, is available to play against Munster in this weekend's domestic clash after being exonerated.
