Pablo Matera was stripped of the Argentina captaincy and suspended with two teammates on Tuesday for historical social media posts deemed to be "discriminatory and xenophobic" – which may have been exposed due to a relative snub of Diego Maradona.
The Argentina Rugby Union said further disciplinary action may be coming.
The sanctions were announced a day after backlash in Argentina for the low-key way the team responded to the death last week of football icon Maradona. While the All Blacks offered a New Zealand No.10 jersey bearing Maradona's name before Saturday's Test against Argentina, the Pumas did the bare minimum by wearing a black armband.
It is believed that Matera's tweets may have been resurfaced as part of the backlash and he has paid the price for some shocking comments. The 2011-12 tweets were targeted at black South Africans, Bolivians and Paraguayans, with one saying: "Today is a good day to get in the car and drive over blacks."
Matera became a national hero when he led the Pumas to their first win over New Zealand in November in the ongoing Tri Nations series in Australia. Now he, veteran lock Guido Petti and hooker Santiago Socino will miss their final Tri Nations match against Australia on Saturday in Sydney.
The UAR said it "repudiates the discriminatory and xenophobic comments published by members of the Los Pumas team on social networks" from 2011 to 2013.
The statement added the social media posts didn't reflect the personalities of the trio while they have been playing for the Pumas, but "the Argentine Rugby Union condemns all kinds of hate speech and consider unacceptable that those who conveyed them represent our country."
Matera, who played his first international match in 2013, has closed his Twitter account and expressed regret on Instagram about the messages.
"Today I have to take (responsibility) for what I said nine years ago," Matera said. "I am very ashamed. Apologies to all those who were offended by the atrocities I wrote. At that moment I did not imagine who I was going to become.
"I'm also sorry to my team and my family for the moment they are going through … and thanks to the people who love me for their support."
Socino added in a statement: "I want to apologise to those who I may have offended with what I said at the time, and what I absolutely repudiate. I never realised what it could cause, and I do not seek to justify it with the immaturity with which I handled myself."
The Pumas have gone from stars to villains at home within weeks.
The black armband was the only gesture they made after Maradona's death last Wednesday.
The backlash forced the Argentine squad to make a public apology on Monday, before the controversial old social media posts emerged.
Matera admitted "the tribute we chose to pay Diego caused pain and disappointment in many people and we wanted to (say) that in no way was that our intention."
"Diego was an extremely important person for us, he always supported us," Matera said, adding that "for Argentine athletes, Diego Maradona is the greatest thing there is and he marked us all."
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