Argentina rugby star Pablo Matera suspended after old tweets saying it was ‘nice morning to run over blacks’ emerge
PABLO MATERA has been stripped of the Argentina rugby captaincy after historic racist tweets emerged.
The 27-year-old was also suspended by the Pumas along with two other players – Guido Petti and Santiago Socino – and said he was ‘very ashamed’.
Matera posted a string of offensive tweets between 2011 and 2013 that surfaced this week.
He wrote: “Nice morning to go out in the car and run over blacks.”
Another read: “‘The fat woman is staring at me hahaha poor fat woman I am not giving up my seat, that’s not pregnancy. that doesn’t count.”
In another vile message he put: “South Africa baby! I’m finally leaving this country full of blacks.”
The following year he said: “Abs on a skinny person are like t*** on a fat person. #doesn’tcount.”
His tweets have since been deleted and his Instagram account, where he issued an apology, set to private.
Matera wrote: “I am very ashamed. I’m sorry to everyone who was offended by the barbarisms I wrote.
“At that moment, I could never imagine who I would become. Today I have to take responsibility for what I said nine years ago.
“I want to apologise as well to my team and to my family for what they are experiencing because of my actions.”
Petti, meanwhile, referred to his domestic worker as a ‘primate’ and spoke of ‘blacks’ stealing mobiles and wallets.
An Argentine rugby statement read: “The Argentine Rugby Union strongly repudiates the discriminatory and xenophobic comments published by members of the Los Pumas team on social media.
“Meeting as an emergency, the board of directors resolves to, in the first place, revoke the captaincy of Pablo Matera and request the staff to propose a new captain to the board of directors.
“Second, suspend Pablo Matera, Guido Petti and Santiago Socino from the national team until their disciplinary situation is defined.”
Matera captained Argentina at last year’s World Cup and plays club rugby for top Paris side Stade Francais.
He also led the Pumas to their first ever win over the All Blacks last month with a shock 25-15 victory in the Rugby Championship.
In a statement, a remorseful Petti insisted the messages ‘don’t at all represent the person I am today… I made a mistake and I want to express my sincere apologies”.
Like Matera, Petti — who recently signed for Bordeaux — is a mainstay of the team, with 56 caps including two World Cup campaigns.
Socino made his debut last year and has played only four Tests.
Most read in Sport
The trio’s suspension leaves the Pumas reeling ahead of their clash against the Wallabies this weekend.
The tweets resurfaced after criticism that the Pumas did not adequately pay tribute to icon Diego Maradona before Saturday’s defeat by New Zealand.
Matera was forced to defend the Pumas’ low-key response, while the All Blacks laid a shirt with Maradona’s name and the No 10.