Pablo Matera reinstated as Argentina captain

Argentina flanker Pablo Matera, who was sacked for posting discriminatory and xenophobic tweets, has been reinstated as captain and seen his suspension lifted.

Matera, alongside team-mates Guido Petti and Santiago Socino, were suspended on Tuesday for remarks they made on social media between 2011 and 2013 which disparaged black people and those from other South American countries.

They will miss Argentina’s game against Australia on Saturday but the Pumas’ governing body, the UAR, have since said that their punishments were “unnecessary” following the players’ apologies.

Disciplinary process continues

“The preventive measures are unnecessary so we have resolved to lift the suspension of the three players and reinstate the captaincy to Pablo Matera,” the UAR said in a statement. “The disciplinary process continues and the commission will arrive at a final resolution in the next few days.”

The decision to remove the players from the squad for this weekend’s Tri Nations game was made after they received “a lot of hate”, according to head coach Mario Ledesma.

“All I can say about these three fine players and great men is that they are great human beings,” Ledesma told reporters in Sydney.

“They have been suffering a lot this week, their families have been suffering a lot this week, and it’s really sad to see. Obviously they acknowledge what they did and they are really regretful and ashamed of what they did, and we all are.

“I can say they are not the same people they were when they were 17, 18 years old. They are great men, family men, Pablo has a kid now, he’s a great leader and a great example.”