South African Forward Wessels Handed Nine-Game Ban for Genital Grab

South Africa front-rower Wessels has been suspended of nine matches for touching opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.

The altercation occurred in the 18th minute of the narrow victory in Galway on last Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after reacting angrily by hitting Wessels on the head area.

After the Connacht player reported the incident to the match official, the contact was reviewed by the TMO, who concluded insufficient clear footage.

The Bulls player remained on the field until he was substituted in the later stages of the game.

Although the URC announced that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was overturned by a governing body, the Springbok was deemed to have breached law 9.27, which declares:

"Any athlete must not engage in actions that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes grabbing, pulling or squeezing the genitals."

Disciplinary officials concluded that the incident met the red card threshold and justified a three-month ban, the shortest ban under international rugby rules for such an violation.

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

Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to appeal, but as it stands, the ban will rule the 24-year-old out of the Springboks' fall internationals against Japan, France, Italy and Ireland.

He will also miss the his club's league matches against Warriors, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup fixtures with Bordeaux and Northampton.

The prop has earned ten international appearances for South Africa and was included in their tri-nations champion team during the recent tournament.

Murphy, in contrast, is available to face the Irish rivals in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.