South African Player Wessels Receives Nine-Game Suspension for Inappropriate Contact
Wessels will miss for South Africa's fall fixtures.
Springbok prop Wessels faces a suspension of nine matches for making contact with opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' United Rugby Championship win over Connacht.
This event took place in the early stages of the close contest in Galway on Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after reacting angrily by striking the South African on the head.
After the Connacht player reported the incident to the match official, the situation was checked by the television match official, who determined no conclusive video evidence.
Wessels stayed on the pitch until he was substituted in the later stages of the game.
While the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was rescinded by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was deemed to have violated the code of conduct, which declares:
"A player should not engage in actions that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers touching, pulling or squeezing the private areas."
The panel determined that the event reached the level for dismissal and justified a three-month ban, the shortest suspension under World Rugby rules for such an violation.
Nonetheless, Wessels' ban was reduced by three weeks because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his good record.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the suspension will prevent the young player out of the Springboks' autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, Italy and the Irish team.
He will also miss the his club's URC games against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bègles and Saints.
Wessels has won 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning team during the recent tournament.
Murphy, in contrast, is available to face Munster in this weekend's domestic clash after being cleared.
