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By Reuters 
18h ago
BUENOS AIRES – The fallout from the Argentine rugby team’s much-criticized tribute to Diego Maradona spread further Tuesday with some Argentines saying they will boycott the team for what they consider an inappropriate tribute to the late great footballer.
The Pumas, as the team is known, wore what looked like black duct tape as armbands in their Tri-Nations defeat to New Zealand on Saturday and many Argentines felt their tribute paled in comparison to that of the All Blacks.
Before performing the traditional haka dance, New Zealanders placed their famous black shirt with the name ‘Maradona’ and the number 10 in the center point.
“People have taken note,” said Sol Nery Pumpido, Argentina’s goalkeeper along with Maradona on the team that won the 1986 World Cup, on radio station. “They were really wrong.”
“I will never see a game of them again.”
Maradona, who died on Wednesday at the age of 60, led Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986 and was also adored in Italy for leading Napoli to two Serie A titles.
“We know that the tribute we decided to pay Diego over the weekend caused pain and disappointed many people,” Captain Pablo Matera said in a recorded message with the entire squad.
“We want everyone to know that Diego is a very important person for this team.”
The backlash came a day after comments from years ago were dug up on social media to the shame of three of the Pumas players, including Matera.
The Argentine Rugby Union (UAR) said in a statement on Tuesday that Matera, Guido Petti and Santiago Socino had posted “discriminatory and xenophobic comments” on social media between 2011 and 2013.
When the charges came to light, Matera was stripped of the captaincy and the three were suspended pending an investigation.
The trio apologized for their language but the image of the Pumas, who last month beat New Zealand, three-time world champions for the first time, was badly damaged.
The scandal comes four days before the Pumas’ final match against Australia in the 2020 Tri Nations Series.
Reuters
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