The Government of Javier Milei announced this Wednesday that it will ask the Argentine Football Association (AFA) to provide explanations about its latest balance sheets, within the framework of a growing dispute between the president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Claudio Tapia, and the Executive, who assured that “No one is above the law or has privileges.”
“The Ministry of Justice informs that, through the General Inspection of Justice (IGJ), the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and the Argentine Football Super League will be notified to provide explanations about the figures contained in their accounting and financial statements,” said this portfolio in a statement this Wednesday.
“The balance sheets of the AFA and the Super League for which explanations have been requested exceed 111 million dollars and 340 million dollars respectively,” warned the text, which announced that the IGJ “will invite the AFA to present documents related to expenses and investments linked to activities not included in its social statutes” and who emphasized that the AFA is a non-profit association.
Threat of severe economic sanctions
The statement stressed that “The lack of response or non-compliance with the requirements within the given period may lead to severe economic sanctions, both for the entities involved and their directors.”
This Monday the AFA reported a “coordinated attack” by the Milei Government after the corruption complaint against its president that the former Minister of Security and current pro-government senator Patricia Bullrich presented to Conmebol.
The AFA’s claim was made through a statement published after Bullrich’s complaint and the beginning, days ago, of judicial investigations against Tapia and against the treasurer of AFA, Pablo Toviggino, based on complaints from state agencies dependent on the Executive.
Investigation into possible corruption
Tapia and Toviggino are being investigated for their alleged links with businessmen and financiers suspected of corruption, in a case of alleged money laundering for which during the last week raids were carried out at the facilities of 17 Argentine clubs and the AFA headquarters itself.
The tension between the Government and the AFA – whose leaders are at ideological opposites – has been going on for more than a year and was triggered by the Executive’s intention to move forward with a model of sports corporations in local football, something that was flatly rejected by the governing body of Argentine football and by the majority of the clubs.
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“A separate chapter is the intention to impose sports corporations, against the freedom that clubs have through their leaders to choose the model of non-profit civil associations,” The AFA statement expressed this in this regard.
