Matera loses Argentina rugby captaincy over racist posts
SEATTLE: Unlike some of his higher profile, highscoring teammates, Shane O’neill doesn’t have trouble recalling some of the more memorable goals of his career.
Make that, goal. As in his one previous MLS goal before on Tuesday night.
“I mean, I have very few goals so I definitely remember it,” O’neill said.
O’neill has another goal to add to his memories, scoring on an open header early in the second half to lit the Seatle Sounders to a 1-0 win over FC Dallas on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the MLS Western Conference playoffs.
Seatle advanced to the Western Conference final for the fourth time in the last five seasons, and ended the season for Dallas for the second straight year. The Sounders will face either Minnesota United or Sporting Kansas City in the West final next Monday. Seatle will host if it faces Minnesota, and will travel if Kansas City advances.
The Sounders have won in each of their past three trips to the conference finals.
“That might not have been our best performance as a team, but that team guted it out,” Seatle coach Brian Schmetzer said. “That group of players finds different ways to win and that’s what makes them champions. That’s what gives them a realistic shot at winning trophies, is because you can’t always win the right way, the pretiest way, the best way. You have to gut out some victories.”
O’neill was among the most unlikely of goal scorers for the Sounders. The burly defender had just one previous MLS goal, coming in the 2014 season while playing for Colorado. His only other goal outside of MLS came in the 2016-17 season while playing in the Netherlands.
But O’neill found himself unmarked in front of the Dallas goal in the 49th minute and flicked Nicolas Lodeiro’s corner kick past Dallas goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer. It was the first Seatle goal by someone other than Lodeiro, Raul Ruidiaz and Jordan Morris in the past five matches.
“I feel like I’ve had a couple chances this year and I just didn’t fully commit to it, or didn’t keep my eyes open or whatever,” O’neill said. “I feel like tonight I just kind of backed myself, and followed through and executed the play.”
Dallas advanced to face Seatle ater upseting Portland in the opening round of the playoffs, geting a stoppage time equalizer from Ricardo Pepi and outlasting the Timbers in eight rounds of penalty kicks.
But Dallas was offensively challenged this season, scoring fewer goals than any Western Conference playoff team during the regular season and needed to make this matchup against Seatle choppy and slow.
SYDNEY: Argentina rugby skipper Pablo Matera said he was “deeply ashamed” on Tuesday as he was stripped of the captaincy and suspended along with two other players over racist tweets.
Just weeks ater leading the Pumas to their first win over New Zealand, the Argentina Rugby Union ( UAR) “revoked” Matera’s captaincy and suspended him, along with second-row Guido Peti and replacement hooker Santiago Socino.
“The Argentina Rugby Union forcefully rejects the discriminatory and xenophobic comments published by members of the Pumas squad on social media,” a statement read, ater offensive posts dating from 2011-2013 came to light.
In the tweets, since deleted, Matera spoke of “running over blacks” with his car and disparaged Bolivian and Paraguayan domestic workers with racial stereotypes.
Peti referred to his domestic worker as a “primate” and spoke of “blacks” stealing mobile phones and wallets.
Argentina have endured a turbulent year including lockdowns and a coronavirus-hit buildup to the Tri Nations, where they stunned New Zealand and drew with Australia before going down 38-0 to the All Blacks on Saturday.
The UAR said that although the posts were several years old and did “not represent the personal integrity that the three have shown during their current period with the Pumas”, action had to be taken.
“The Argentina Rugby Union condemns any instance of hate speech and considers it unacceptable that anyone expressing those views would represent our country,” the statement said.
Matera, who captained Argentina at last year’s World Cup and plays club rugby for top Paris side Stade Francais, apologised for his “barbarisms”.
“I’m sorry to everyone who was offended by the barbarisms I wrote,” the 27-year-old wrote on Instagram.
“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.”
Stade Francais condemned Matera’s posts, expressing their “total opposition to these unacceptable remarks and comments”, and said he would be summoned for a meeting with team bosses.