South African Forward Wessels Receives Nine-Match Suspension for Inappropriate Contact
Wessels will miss for the Springboks' fall fixtures.
Springbok prop Wessels has received a ban of nine matches for making contact with opponent Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' United Rugby Championship victory over Connacht.
The incident took place in the 18th minute of the close contest against Connacht on last Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by hitting the South African on the head area.
After Murphy complained to referee Mike Adamson, the situation was examined by the TMO, who concluded insufficient clear footage.
The Bulls player stayed on the field until he was substituted in the second half of the match.
Although the URC announced that Murphy's 20-minute red card was overturned by a governing body, the Springbok was found to have breached law 9.27, which states:
"Any athlete must not do anything that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes grabbing, pulling or compressing the private areas."
The panel determined that the event reached the level for dismissal and warranted a three-month ban, the minimum ban under international rugby rules for such an infringement.
Nonetheless, Wessels' ban was reduced by three weeks because of his good conduct during the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.
The forward and the Pretoria-based team are entitled to appeal, but as it stands, the suspension will rule the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's fall internationals against Japan, France, the Azzurri and Ireland.
He will additionally be absent for the Bulls' league matches against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bègles and Northampton.
Wessels has won ten international appearances for South Africa and was part of their tri-nations champion team during the recent tournament.
Murphy, in contrast, is available to face the Irish rivals in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
