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South African Forward Wessels Handed Nine-Match Ban for Genital Grab
Wessels will miss for the Springboks' autumn internationals.
South Africa front-rower Wessels faces a suspension of nine matches for grabbing opponent Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' URC victory over the Irish province.
The incident took place in the early stages of the Bulls' 28-27 win against Connacht on Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after reacting angrily by striking the South African on the head area.
Following the Connacht player reported the incident to the match official, the event was reviewed by the television match official, who found no definitive proof.
The Bulls player stayed on the pitch until he was substituted in the later stages of the match.
Although the URC confirmed that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a governing body, the Springbok was found to have violated the code of conduct, which states:
"Any athlete should not do anything that is contrary to the principles of fair play. Such behavior covers touching, pulling or compressing the private areas."
Disciplinary officials were satisfied that the contact met the red card threshold and warranted a three-month ban, the shortest ban under World Rugby regulations for such an offence.
However, the player's suspension was shortened by three weeks because of his good conduct prior to and at the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to challenge the decision, but currently, the suspension will rule the young player out of the South African national team's fall internationals against Japan, France, the Azzurri and Ireland.
He will additionally be absent for the his club's league matches against Glasgow, the Lions and the Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bègles and Northampton.
Wessels has won 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their tri-nations champion team during the recent tournament.
Murphy, in contrast, is eligible to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's domestic clash after being cleared.
Shane Waters
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