The player is ruled out for the Springboks' autumn internationals.
South Africa front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels has received a ban of nine matches for making contact with Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' United Rugby Championship win over the Irish province.
The altercation occurred in the early stages of the Bulls' 28-27 win against Connacht on Friday, with opposing player Josh Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after responding aggressively by striking the South African on the head.
Following the Connacht player reported the incident to the match official, the event was checked by the TMO, who concluded no definitive proof.
Wessels remained on the pitch until he was replaced in the later stages of the game.
Although the URC announced that the Irish player's 20-minute red card was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was found to have breached law 9.27, which specifies:
"Any athlete should not engage in actions that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers grabbing, pulling or compressing the private areas."
The panel were satisfied that the contact met the red card threshold and justified a three-month ban, the shortest ban under World Rugby regulations for such an infringement.
However, the player's ban was reduced by three weeks because of his good conduct during the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Bulls are entitled to appeal, but currently, the ban will rule the young player out of the Springboks' autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, France, the Azzurri and the Irish team.
Wessels will also miss the Bulls' URC games against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bègles and Northampton.
Wessels has earned 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their tri-nations champion team during the recent tournament.
Murphy, in contrast, is eligible to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's domestic clash after being exonerated.
