South African Player Wessels Receives Nine-Match Ban for Inappropriate Contact

Springbok front-rower Wessels has received a ban of nine games for touching Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' United Rugby Championship win over the Irish province.

The incident happened in the 18th minute of the Bulls' 28-27 win in Galway on Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by hitting the South African on the head.

After Murphy reported the incident to the match official, the event was examined by the television match official, who found insufficient clear footage.

Wessels stayed on the pitch until he was substituted in the second half of the game.

While the URC announced that Murphy's 20-minute red card was rescinded by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was found to have violated the code of conduct, which specifies:

"Any athlete should not do anything that is contrary to the principles of fair play. Such behavior covers touching, pulling or compressing the genitals."

The panel concluded that the incident met the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the shortest ban under international rugby regulations for such an offence.

However, Wessels' suspension was shortened by 21 days because of his cooperative behavior during the hearing and his good record.

Wessels and the Bulls have the right to challenge the decision, 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, Italy and the Irish team.

He will also miss the Bulls' league matches against Glasgow, the Lions and the Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bordeaux and Saints.

Wessels has earned ten international appearances for South Africa and was part of their tri-nations champion squad during the recent tournament.

Murphy, meanwhile, is available to play against Munster in this weekend's domestic clash after being cleared.