Springbok Player Jan-Hendrik Wessels Given Nine-Game Ban for Inappropriate Contact
The player will be unavailable for South Africa's autumn internationals.
Springbok front-rower Wessels has received a ban of nine games for making contact with opponent Josh Murphy's private parts during the Blue Bulls' URC victory over the Irish province.
This event happened in the early stages of the close contest in Galway on Friday, with opposing player Josh Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by hitting the South African on the head.
After the Connacht player reported the incident to the match official, the contact was examined by the television match official, who concluded no definitive proof.
The Bulls player stayed on the field until he was replaced in the later stages of the game.
While the URC announced that Murphy's temporary sending-off was overturned by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was deemed to have violated the code of conduct, which declares:
"A player must not engage in actions that is against the principles of fair play. Such behavior covers touching, pulling or squeezing the private areas."
Disciplinary officials determined that the contact reached the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the shortest ban under international rugby regulations for such an offence.
However, the player's suspension was shortened by 21 days because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
The forward and the Bulls have the right to appeal, but as it stands, the suspension will rule the 24-year-old 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 his club's league matches against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bordeaux and Northampton.
The prop has earned 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their tri-nations champion team over the summer.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is available to face Munster in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
