World Rugby Statement on racist abuse during match between Argentina and England
On 15 July, World Rugby received an official complaint from England Rugby regarding racist abuse directed at their players by spectators during the Argentina v England match in San Juan on 12 July.
There is no place in rugby or society for discrimination, abuse or hate speech, and any compliant of discrimination is taken extremely seriously by World Rugby, and an immediate and thorough investigation was undertaken, involving witness statements, video analysis, and other lines of enquiry.
While it is clear that an incident took place, we regret that the individuals responsible could not be identified. Working with World Rugby, the Union Argentina de Rugby has developed an action plan to enhance their operations, educate fans and better prevent such unacceptable incidents from occurring again.
World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson said: “Rugby completely condemns discriminatory behaviour of any kind. 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 said: "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."
For his part, Gabriel Travaglini, President of the Unión Argentina de Rugby, stated: “From the Unión Argentina de Rugby, we strongly condemn all acts of racism and stand in solidarity with the England Rugby players who felt aggrieved. Upon learning of the incidents, intense efforts were made to identify the small group of 5 or 7 individuals responsible within a crowd of over 20,000 spectators. Unfortunately, despite an exhaustive search, it was not possible to identify the perpetrators. We will continue to work collaboratively with World Rugby to educate the fans and eradicate any similar manifestations in the future, ensuring that our events are spaces of respect and inclusion for everyone.”
