England’s Test win over Argentina was marred by racial abuse from the stands
World Rugby has issued a statement after England’s players were subjected to racial abuse during their second Test with Argentina.
Steve Borthwick’s side eked out a 22-17 victory in San Juan on July 12, but the match was marred by hate speech directed at a number of England stars.
The sport’s global governing body has stated that “it is clear an incident took place” after an “immediate and through investigation” was undertaken.
But after analysing witness statements, video analysis and other lines of enquiry, World Rugby has been unable to identify the individuals responsible.
It was also stated that World Rugby has worked with the Argentine Rugby Union to develop an action plan to “educate fans and better prevent such unacceptable incidents from occurring again”.
“Rugby completely condemns discriminatory behaviour of any kind,” World Rugby chair Brett Robinson said. “We offer our full support to the players involved and want them to know that rugby stands with them in opposing racism. I applaud their courage in raising what must have been a highly distressing experience.
“The rugby family holds our values close to our heart, we will never compromise what we stand for. We use our global platform to say with one voice that racism, or any other kind of hate, has no place not just in rugby, but society as a whole. We expect the rugby family to set an example and model the values that underpin a sport where all are welcome.
“I would like to thank the Union Argentina de Rugby for their cooperation both in attempting to identify the individuals involved and for swiftly developing a comprehensive plan which we believe will make such incidents less likely in future.”
England Rugby CEO Bill Sweeney added: "There is absolutely no place for racism in our sport—or in any society—and these incidents must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
"Every player, regardless of their background, has the right to represent their country with pride and dignity, free from discrimination and abuse. We are in close contact with the players affected and have offered them our full support.
"We're pleased that World Rugby was able to act swiftly to investigate and thank UAR for their full cooperation and support throughout. We trust that they will take the necessary steps to prevent any recurrence of such unacceptable behaviour."
England completed an impressive 2-0 series win in Argentina, with a last-gasp Jack van Poortvliet try sealing a second Test victory in San Juan.
Category: General Sports
