ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
REGISTER
LOGIN
ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
Thursday Dec 3, 2020

'Apparently they’re great blokes that need protection for what they’re facing from their actions' - Hewitt

Following the Argentinian Rugby Union’s decision to reinstate Pablo Matera as captain and lift the suspension of Guido Petti and Santiago Socino, Dragons winger Ashton Hewitt has said that their statement was “exactly the opposite of what the statement should look like”.

ADVERTISEMENT

Matera, Petti and Socino were suspended on Tuesday for “discriminatory and xenophobic” social media posts made between 2011 and 2013, which Hewitt saw as an opportunity for “an education piece”.

But the UAR explained their decision to rescind the suspensions as “the three players expressed their deep regret,” and that “they have not repeated similar actions during these more than eight years”.

However, Hewitt had already said on Twitter earlier this week that “making [Matera] say sorry isn’t really going to solve anything”.

Instead, the Welshman said that this situation must be “properly addressed” in order to “understand why he had those views and made those comments”.

Given the UAR’s response, it makes sense why the 26-year-old has cause for concern. Though the statement said that a resolution will be reached in the next few days, Hewitt has shared on Twitter what course of action he believes should have been taken:

“If he has changed his views since then, explain what it was specifically that made him change those views. Explain why he held those views in the first place. If he can’t, educate him on those views so he can fully understand the severity of them. Until then, ban.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Being of Jamaican and Welsh heritage, Hewitt has been a significant figure in recent months in exposing the racism that is prevalent in rugby and society as a whole.

A first-person piece by the winger appeared in Guinness PRO14 programmes in October which sought to amplify the message of Rugby Against Racism. He wrote about what ‘black lives matter’ means to him, his experience of racism growing up and the positivity and progress that has come from speaking out and starting these conversations.

ADVERTISEMENT

Though their suspensions have been lifted, Matera, Petti and Socino have been excluded from the Pumas’ final Tri Nations match with Australia this Saturday.

Related Articles

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    Ellis Genge puts on his boxing gloves ready...

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    Crazy scenes as player deliberately kicks...

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    RFU make decision on transgender players...



ADVERTISEMENT

Great Tries

  • 6 DAYS AGO

    Incredible Camera Work During URC Clash Shows Rugby Player’s Athleticism

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Heart Breaking Six Nations Ending For Italy As Scotland Score Long Range Try

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Montpellier Number Eight Zach Mercer Outlandish Attacking Skill

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Damian Penaud Pulls Off a "van der Merwe" in Outrageous French Try

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Ireland Winger James Lowe With World Class Finish In Titanic Battle With France

View All

Big Hits & Dirty Play

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Italian player cops nine week ban following on field bust up

  • 4 DAYS AGO

    Close Up Angle Of La Rochelle Secondrow Will Skelton Laying Into Opposition

  • 5 DAYS AGO

    Referee Luke Pearce Gets Hit Hard In Harlequins vs Saracens Clash

  • 6 DAYS AGO

    Owen Farrell On The Receiving End Of An Illegal Hit

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Refereeing Legend Nigel Owens Breaks Down Freddie Steward Incident

View All

See It To Believe It

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea Moment Of Magic In Super Rugby Aotearoa

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    'Armchair athletes' berate Arundell's seriously impressive bench press

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Worcester Warriors - The End

  • 9 WEEKS AGO

    Sevens magic as 'headed' try brings stadium to its feet

  • 10 WEEKS AGO

    Almost 35,000 have now signed petition to reverse new grassroots tackle laws

View All

Funnies

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Whole Irish squad turn up to teammates parents house for drinking session

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Jonathan Sexton Fantastic Comeback Caught On Ref Mic

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Hilarious Footage Of English Players Post Leg Day Workout

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Mack Hansen leaves viewers in stitches with hilarious post-match interview mistake

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    A Look Back At Rugby’s Greatest Ever Film

View All

Amateur

  • 12 WEEKS AGO

    You Won’t See Many Better Than This Silky-Smooth Try From Llandovery RFC

  • 12 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes As Caldy RFC Hand Ealing First Championship Defeat Of The Season

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    Dubious Score Decides Result Of Rugby's Biggest Schools Fixture

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes At School Boys Rugby Match

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    The Next Dominant Backrow?

View All

Player Features

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Italian player cops nine week ban following on field bust up

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Youth and experience combine in an effort to repeat Six Nations upset

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Wales international releases emotional statement after being offered contract that isn’t enough to feed family

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea causes outrage with ‘throat slitting’ gesture

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Smith, Marchant and Murley released from England camp to take part in 'Big Game 14'

View All