Springbok Player Wessels Receives Nine-Game Suspension for Inappropriate Contact
Wessels will be unavailable for South Africa's autumn internationals.
Springbok prop Wessels has received a ban of nine games for grabbing opponent Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' URC win over Connacht.
The incident happened in the early stages of the narrow victory in Galway on Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after striking back by hitting Wessels on the head area.
Following the Connacht player reported the incident to the match official, the contact was examined by the TMO, who determined no conclusive video evidence.
The Bulls player 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 overturned by a governing body, Wessels was found to have breached law 9.27, which specifies:
"A player must not do anything that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers grabbing, pulling or compressing the private areas."
The panel concluded that the contact reached the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the minimum suspension under World Rugby rules for such an infringement.
Nonetheless, the player's suspension was shortened by 21 days because of his cooperative behavior during the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
The forward and the Pretoria-based team have the right to appeal, but as it stands, the ban will prevent the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, Italy and the Irish team.
Wessels will additionally be absent for the Bulls' URC games against Warriors, the Lions and the Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bègles and Saints.
The prop has won ten international appearances for the Springboks and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning team over the summer.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is available to face the Irish rivals in Saturday's domestic clash after being exonerated.
