Springbok Player Jan-Hendrik Wessels Given Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab

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

This event occurred in the early stages of the narrow victory against Connacht on last Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by striking Wessels on the head.

Following Murphy complained to the match official, the situation was checked by the television match official, who concluded insufficient clear footage.

Wessels stayed on the field until he was substituted in the later stages of the match.

While the United Rugby Championship announced that Murphy's temporary sending-off was overturned by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was deemed to have breached law 9.27, which states:

"A player must not engage in actions that is contrary to the principles of fair play. This includes touching, pulling or compressing the private areas."

The panel determined that the event reached the red card threshold and justified a three-month ban, the minimum ban under international rugby rules for such an violation.

However, Wessels' suspension was reduced by three weeks because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.

The forward and the Bulls are entitled to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the ban will rule the young player out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, Italy and the Irish team.

Wessels will additionally be absent for the Bulls' league matches against Warriors, the Lions and the Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bordeaux and Northampton.

The prop has earned 10 caps for South Africa and was included in their tri-nations champion squad over the summer.

The Connacht player, meanwhile, is eligible to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's domestic clash after being exonerated.