South African Forward Wessels Receives Nine-Game Ban for Inappropriate Contact
Wessels will be unavailable for the Springboks' fall fixtures.
Springbok prop Wessels faces a suspension of nine games for making contact with Josh Murphy's private parts during the Blue Bulls' URC victory over Connacht.
The incident took place in the early stages of the close contest in Galway on last Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after reacting angrily by striking the South African on the head area.
After Murphy reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the event was reviewed by the TMO, who determined insufficient clear footage.
Wessels remained on the pitch until he was replaced in the second half of the game.
While the URC confirmed that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was found to have violated the code of conduct, which specifies:
"A player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes touching, pulling or squeezing the private areas."
Disciplinary officials were satisfied that the incident met the red card threshold and warranted a 12-week suspension, the shortest ban under World Rugby rules for such an violation.
However, Wessels' ban was reduced by three weeks because of his good conduct prior to and at the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
The forward and the Pretoria-based team have the right to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the suspension will prevent the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, the Azzurri and Ireland.
He will additionally be absent for the his club's URC games against Glasgow, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup fixtures with Bordeaux and Saints.
Wessels has won ten international appearances for the Springboks and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning squad over the summer.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is eligible to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.
