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The Argentine rugby union lifted the employer’s interim suspensions Pablo Matera and two other players for racist tweets Thursday, in a 180-degree turn just two days after calling the posts “unacceptable.”
Coach Mario Ledesma hailed Matera as a “great human being” despite the tweets, which date back several years and were labeled “discriminatory” and “xenophobic” by the rugby union.
The change of face followed reports that Argentina’s players had threatened to hit over the suspensions of wing Matera, second row. Guido petti and replacement prostitute Santiago Socino.
All three players were left out of the squad to play Australia in the final Tri Nations game in Sydney on Saturday. But Ledesma made it clear that they would return.
“They reached an agreement with the union not to play this game but what I can say is that they are three good players and great men, they are great human beings,” he said in a Zoom call.
“They have been suffering a lot this week, their families have suffered a lot this week. It’s really sad to see it.”
When asked if Matera would resume the captaincy, he replied: “Exactly. Pablo will not play this game, but he is still the captain.”
Jerónimo de la Fuente received the patron armband for Saturday’s game, with radical changes to the Pumas side after their 38-0 defeat of New Zealand last week.
The 27-year-old Matera had previously said he was “deeply ashamed” of the tweets, posted between 2011-2013 and since deleted, including one in which he spoke of “running over black people” with his car.
Petti referred to his maid as a “primate” and spoke of “blacks” who steal cell phones and wallets.
The messages resurfaced after criticism that the Pumas did not adequately pay tribute to Argentine soccer icon Diego Maradona, who died last week before Saturday’s loss to the All Blacks.
Ledesma said there had been “a lot of hatred” during the week and that his players were “very, very affected.”
“They are not the same people they were at 17 or 18. They are great men, family men,” he said of the trio.
In announcing the suspensions on Tuesday, the Argentine Rugby Union said it “condemns any instance of hate speech and considers it unacceptable that anyone who expresses such opinions represents our country.”
But on Thursday he said that while the sanctioning process continued, “it is unnecessary to maintain the precautionary measures and it is decided to lift the suspension of the three players and reinstate the captaincy of Pablo Matera.”
The turbulent week culminates a rollercoaster year for Argentina, which has suffered lockdowns and a build-up of coronavirus at the Tri Nations, where it surprised New Zealand and tied with Australia before crashing into the All Blacks last weekend.
It overshadowed the preparation for Saturday’s game, where New Zealand will officially become the Three Nations champion.
Australia and Argentina still have a mathematical chance to beat them, but it will take a miracle.
Both need a victory with extra points and, in the case of Australia, they must beat the Pumas by 101 points. For Argentina to get their most important trophy in history, they need to beat the Wallabies by 93 points.
Australia coach Dave Rennie said Argentina’s turmoil had not changed his preparations.
“We prepare as if the guys mentioned are going to play. And we don’t think from a structural point of view that they are going to change much anyway,” he said.
“So we prepared as if they had their best team out there.”
Australia has been boosted by the return of playmaker James O’Connor, who missed the last three rounds due to injuries. Claim the number 10 jersey from the versatile Reece Hodge, who switches to fullback.
Among the forwards, Allan Alaalatoa returns as a closed head pillar ahead of Taniela Tupou with the group unchanged from the team that drew 15-15 with Argentina a fortnight ago.
“Ultimately, what we really want is quality performance, a reflection of all the hard work we’ve put in over the last 10 or 11 weeks and something to kick off our season next year,” Rennie said.
Equipment:
Australia
15 Reece Hodge, 14 Tom Wright, 13 Jordan Petaia, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Nic White, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Matt Philip, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Scott Sio.
Substitutes: 16 sailors, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Lukhan Salakia-Loto, 20 Rob Valetini, 21 Jake Gordon, 22 Irae Simone, 23 Tom Banks
Argentina
15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente (captain), 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Felipe Ezcurra, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Facundo Isa, 6 Santiago Grondona ;, 5Marcos Kremer, 4 Matias Alemanno, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Substitutes: 16 Jose Luis Gonzalez, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 19 Lucas Paulos, 20 Francisco Gorrissen, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Domingo Miotti, 23 Santiago Chocobares
