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South African Player Jan-Hendrik Wessels Handed Nine-Game Suspension for Genital Grab
The player will be unavailable for South Africa's fall fixtures.
Springbok front-rower Wessels has been suspended of nine matches for making contact with Josh Murphy's private parts during the Blue Bulls' United Rugby Championship win over the Irish province.
The altercation occurred in the early stages of the Bulls' 28-27 win in Galway on last Friday, with opposing player Josh Murphy receiving a 20-minute red card after reacting angrily by striking Wessels on the head area.
After the Connacht player complained to the match official, the situation was examined by the television match official, who determined insufficient clear footage.
The Bulls player stayed on the pitch until he was substituted in the second half of the match.
While the United Rugby Championship announced that Murphy's temporary sending-off was rescinded by a governing body, Wessels was found to have breached law 9.27, which specifies:
"Any athlete should not engage in actions that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers grabbing, twisting or squeezing the genitals."
The panel concluded that the event reached the level for dismissal and warranted a three-month ban, the minimum ban under World Rugby regulations for such an violation.
Nonetheless, Wessels' ban was reduced by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior prior to and at the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to appeal, but currently, the suspension will prevent the 24-year-old out of the Springboks' fall internationals against Japan, Les Bleus, Italy and the Irish team.
Wessels will also miss the Bulls' URC games against Glasgow, the Lions and the Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bordeaux and Northampton.
Wessels has won 10 caps for South Africa and was included in their Rugby Championship-winning squad over the summer.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is eligible to play against Munster in this weekend's domestic clash after being cleared.
Cheryl Finley
Cybersecurity expert with over a decade in data protection, specializing in secure cloud architectures and privacy compliance.
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