South African Forward Wessels Handed Nine-Match Suspension for Inappropriate Contact
The player will miss for South Africa's fall fixtures.
Springbok prop Wessels has been suspended of nine games for grabbing Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' United Rugby Championship victory over the Irish province.
The incident occurred in the early stages of the Bulls' 28-27 win in Galway on Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after striking back by striking the South African on the head area.
After the Connacht player complained to the match official, the contact was examined by the television match official, who determined no conclusive video evidence.
The Bulls player stayed on the field until he was replaced in the later stages of the game.
While the URC announced that the Irish player's 20-minute red card was overturned by a governing body, the Springbok was deemed to have breached the code of conduct, which specifies:
"A player must not engage in actions that is against the principles of fair play. Such behavior covers grabbing, pulling or squeezing the genitals."
Disciplinary officials concluded that the contact reached the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the shortest ban under World Rugby regulations for such an offence.
However, the player's ban was reduced by 21 days because of his cooperative behavior prior to and at the proceedings and his good record.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team 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 fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, France, the Azzurri and the Irish team.
He will also miss the Bulls' league matches against Glasgow, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bordeaux and Northampton.
The prop has won 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 Munster in this weekend's domestic clash after being cleared.
