The Argentina Rugby Union has confirmed its investigation into racism, xenophobia and discrimination attributed to three senior players is at an advanced stage.

A disciplinary committee was belatedly appointed and a full instigation launched by the UAR after the union came under fire last week for effectively lifting the temporary suspension of Pablo Matera, Guido Petti and Santiago Socino for their racist and xenophobic tweets several years ago.

Initially, Matera was stripped of the captaincy for the remainder of the season and he, Petti and Socino did not feature against the Wallabies in that was their last game of the year, but the trio appeared unlikely to face any future long-term sanction.

But with the investigation now underway, the UAR released a statement on Friday to reiterate its condemnation of the players and its support of the investigative process.

‘A disciplinary committee continues to investigate expressions of racism, xenophobia and discrimination by current Los Pumas players on social media in 2011 and 2012.

‘The UAR looks forward to the conclusion of the process and would like to reiterate that it condemns any action or behaviour which discriminates on grounds of religion, race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, colour or nationality.

‘The UAR is committed to setting a positive example, as evidenced by the launch “Rugby 2030” programme in February 2020, which at its core has the aim of eradicating any discrimination and abusive behaviour within the rugby community.’

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