It is remarkable that during the match itself it was his opponent Josh Murphy of the Irish Connacht who was excluded for twenty minutes. Murphy was punished by the referee for hitting Wessels on the head twice.
Frenchwoman starts riot and receives mega suspension after biting opponent at Rugby World Cup: ‘I lost my cool’
Murphy then immediately asked the referee to look at his opponent’s action. “He grabbed me there,” Murphy said, but the images were not sufficient, the arbitration ruled. After a longer study of the images – or perhaps by obtaining different camera angles – the disciplinary committee decided to issue a significant suspension to Wessels, while Murphy was acquitted.
“A player must not do anything contrary to the spirit of sportsmanship, including grabbing, twisting or squeezing the genitals,” the United Rugby Championship, a competition between Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Italian and South African clubs, insists.
Not the maximum penalty
Wessels could initially even receive a twelve-match suspension, but due to “the player’s good behavior in the past and during the hearing” it was decided to keep it at nine matches.