(Reuters) – Former Argentine Rugby Union (UAR) England winger Yugo Moni has criticized the suspension of captain Pablo Matera.

Flanker Matera was sacked as captain and Lock Guido Petty and hooker Santiago Sosino were suspended on Tuesday for comments posted between 2011 and 2013.

But the UAR said the suspension could be withdrawn, along with players’ apologies and their good behavior in the years following the comments.

Moni, who captained England 14 times between 2008 and 2012, told the BBC. “Rugby doesn’t know how to deal with racism, which is why I saw the U-turn in 48 hours.

“Racism seems to be this liar forever, because no one wants to own it. If you’ve got the union that it’s immature, that’s what they think.

In response to the comments, Moni also condemned the abuse of Mathera online.

“People who tweeted about him and his family – you feel ashamed too,” he said. “That’s not how we move forward.”

“Eight years ago I didn’t want to divide the person. That’s not what we’ve supposed to do with Matera, but I do want to accept it and deal with it appropriately.

The UA is more interested in protecting their players than dealing with racism that affects millions of people every day.

(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bangalore; Christian Radnage Editing)