URC board imposed nine-week nan on Jan-Hendrik Wessels without considering his defence
URC disciplinary board issues nine-week ban to Jan-Hendrik Wessels for alleged genital grab on Josh Murphy without video evidence, sparking controversy over fairness and precedent. Picture: Michael Bradley/AFP
Image: Michael Bradley/AFP
In a stunning revelation, it’s emerged that the United Rugby Championship (URC) disciplinary board, which handed down a nine-week ban to Bulls player Jan-Hendrik Wessels, did not even consider the front-rower’s side of the story.
Wessels received the sentence for a genital grab on Connacht’s Josh Murphy during their URC clash in Galway on October 17.
This despite no video evidence of the incident, and going on Murphy’s version of events alone. According to a Planet Rugby report it said Wessels’ evidence was also deemed credible, but it was noted that his oral evidence “was brief and not supported by any third party.”
The only footage that exists related to the incident is that of Murphy hitting Wessels twice. This, of course, Murphy maintains was in retaliation for the genital grab.
Jan-Hendrik Wessels Receives Nine-Game Suspension for Foul Play in URC Round 4 Against Connacht Rugby
The URC said in a statement: “The disciplinary process related to Jan-Hendrik Wessels’s citing in the United Rugby Championship Round 4 game against Connacht Rugby on Friday, October 17, has resulted in a nine-game suspension.
“The Citing Commissioner in charge reported Bulls player No. 2 (Jan-Hendrik Wessels) for an act of foul play in the 18th minute under Law 9.27 — a player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes grabbing, twisting, or squeezing the genitals.”
Though Murphy was red-carded at the time, that was later rescinded after his complaints were heard.
Of course, the on-field rules diverge slightly as any deliberate hit to the head results in an immediate red, and at least the Connacht flank was sent off at the time.
Still, the whole incident seems to be a bit of a farce, and sets a ridiculous precedent as players can be sanctioned though no actual visual evidence of an event exists.
Therefore the length of Wessels’s ban, at least to the layman, seems quite excessive.