South African Forward Wessels Handed Nine-Match Ban for Genital Grab
The player is ruled out 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 win over the Irish province.
The incident took place in the 18th minute of the narrow victory in Galway on last Friday, with opposing player Josh Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after reacting angrily by hitting the South African on the head area.
After the Connacht player reported the incident to the match official, the event was examined by the television match official, who concluded no conclusive video evidence.
Wessels remained on the field until he was substituted in the second half of the match.
Although the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a governing body, Wessels was found to have violated the code of conduct, which specifies: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. Such behavior covers touching, pulling or squeezing the private areas."
The panel were satisfied that the contact met the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the shortest suspension under World Rugby rules for such an violation.
However, Wessels' ban was shortened by 21 days because of his cooperative behavior prior to and at the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Bulls are entitled to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the ban will rule 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 Bulls' league matches against Glasgow, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bordeaux and Saints.
The prop has earned 10 caps for the Springboks and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning team during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is eligible to play against the Irish rivals in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
