South African Forward Wessels Handed Nine-Game Suspension for Genital Grab
The player will be unavailable for South Africa's autumn internationals.
Springbok front-rower Wessels faces a suspension of nine matches for making contact with opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' URC win over Connacht.
The altercation took place in the early stages of the narrow victory against Connacht on Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by striking Wessels on the head area.
After the Connacht player reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the event was reviewed by the TMO, who determined no definitive proof.
The Bulls player stayed on the field until he was replaced in the later stages of the game.
Although the United Rugby Championship announced that Murphy's 20-minute red card was rescinded by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was found to have breached the code of conduct, which specifies: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 engage in actions that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers grabbing, twisting or compressing the private areas."
The panel determined that the event met the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the minimum ban under World Rugby rules for such an violation.
However, the player's ban was reduced by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior prior to and at the proceedings and his good record.
The forward and the Pretoria-based team are entitled to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the ban will prevent the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, France, Italy and Ireland.
Wessels will additionally be absent for the his club's URC games against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Sharks, as well as European cup fixtures with Bordeaux and Northampton.
Wessels has earned 10 caps for the Springboks and was included in their Rugby Championship-winning team over the summer.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is available to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
