South African Player Wessels Handed Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab

South Africa front-rower Wessels has received a ban of nine matches for making contact with opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.

This event occurred in the early stages of the close contest in Galway on last Friday, with opposing player Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after striking back by striking the South African on the head.

After the Connacht player complained to referee Mike Adamson, the situation was reviewed by the television match official, who determined no conclusive video evidence.

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

While the URC confirmed that the Irish player's 20-minute red card was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was deemed to have violated the code of conduct, which states:

"Any athlete must not do anything that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers grabbing, pulling or squeezing the private areas."

The panel determined that the event met the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the minimum ban under international rugby regulations for such an infringement.

However, Wessels' ban was shortened by three weeks because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his good record.

Wessels and the Pretoria-based team are entitled to appeal, but as it stands, the suspension will prevent the 24-year-old out of the Springboks' autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, France, Italy and Ireland.

Wessels will additionally be absent for the his club's league matches against Warriors, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bordeaux and Saints.

The prop has won ten international appearances for South Africa and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning team over the summer.

Murphy, in contrast, is available to face Munster in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.