Argentina rugby controversy takes stunning new turn

Disgraced Pumas skipper Pablo Matera has been reinstated as captain but won't face the Wallabies in Saturday night's final Tri Nations clash in Sydney.

Matera was sensationally stripped of the captaincy and stood down from the Bankwest Stadium Test, along with teammates Guido Petti and Santiago Socino, after racist tweets re-surfaced.

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The tweets, originally shared between 2011 and 2013, related to Bolivian and Paraguayan domestic staff and black people, and were described by the Argentina Rugby Union (UAR) as "discriminatory and xenophobic".

The UAR confirmed on Thursday the players had faced a disciplinary hearing and the ban had been lifted, however the trio won't play.

Centre Jeronimo de la Fuente will lead the side in Matera's absence.

The UAR said in a statement the players faced a disciplinary commission on Wednesday, where they showed great remorse.

"The three players expressed their deep regret, reiterated the apology, ratified that it is not what they think and that it was a reckless act typical of immaturity," the UAR said in a statement.

"However, they are fully responsible ... seek to amend the damage caused.

"At the time of preliminary issuance, the Disciplinary Committee has considered and assessed the attitude of the three players during this process, and understands that they have not repeated similar actions during these more than eight years, and that they have shown during this time to be people with firm and upright values, worthy of being part of our team."

The UAR said the commission would reach a final resolution in the next few days but resolved to lift the suspension and restore the captaincy of Matera.

Matera was forced to apologise after the historical comments he made about Bolivian and black people resurfaced on social media.

In a series of tweets that have since been deleted from his account, Matera wrote about “running over blacks” with his car and disparaged Bolivians and Paraguayans.

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One tweet translates as: “SOUTH AFRICA baby! I’m finally leaving this country full of blacks.. OUCH!!”

Another reads: “Nice morning to go in the car to step on blacks.”

Matera issued an apology on Instagram, insisting he was a changed man from the one who made the initial comments several years ago.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Argentina's rugby bosses believe Matera's old comments resurfaced as a form of revenge from those in his homeland, angry with the side's underwhelming tribute to Maradona in last weekend's clash with the All Blacks.

The New Zealand side was widely praised after presenting a special All Blacks jersey with Maradona's name and number on the back, before performing their haka.

However, the Argentina side simply wore black armbands to commemorate Maradona's death, sparking outrage back home.

The team even released a video on Monday to apologise for the anger they'd caused over their Maradona tribute.

“We know that the tribute we did for Diego caused disappointment, but we wanted to tell you that it was by no means our intention,” the Pumas wrote in the post accompanying the video.

“We did not want to stop apologising to them, we wanted to tell them that Diego is always present and is an important person for this team.”

with AAP

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