Argentine football to strike in response to AFAs legal troubles

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) announced on Monday that its club members will go on strike to protest the recent legal complaint filed by the Customs Collection and Control Agency (ARCA, in Spanish) against the sporting entity. The complaint is part of a broader battle the Milei administration has been waging against AFA President Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia since 2023. At the center of it all is the debate on the legalization of the private sports corporation model for football clubs competing in the Argentine football leagues. In a statement published on its website, Argentine football’s governing body said the decision had been taken through an “unanimous vote” at an executive committee meeting. “Club directors requested that the [Liga Profesional]’s ninth matchday between Thursday, February 5, andSunday 8, along with all matches from every other division, be suspended as a protest for the complaint filed by ARCA against the AFA,” reads the communiqué. The AFA went on to say that it “has no outstanding debt for tax obligations that have been used as grounds for the complaint filed by ARCA” and that the case is “pending resolution by an appeals court.” ARCA claims Argentine football’s governing body failed to pay taxes and security contributions for over AR$19 trillion (just over US$13 billion).  The complaint has led the Argentine judiciary to summon a slew of AFA authorities for questioning. In addition to Tapia, his right-hand man and AFA treasurer Pablo Toviggino, AFA general secretary Cristian Malaspina, and his predecessor Víctor Blanco, will appear before a judge starting this Thursday. Vélez Sarsfield president Fabián Berlanga was the only one to comment publicly on the matter, claiming that AFA was being “persecuted.” “A war is being declared that has no place in football. They want to impose private sports corporations, and the members have already made their position clear,” he said, referencing the matter that is at the center of the dispute between the AFA and the government.  Strikes in Argentine football It’s not the first time Argentine football has stopped play due to a strike.  The most recent case came in 2017. Football was halted for 12 days after the Argentine Football Players Union (FAA, for its Spanish initials) called a strike over several clubs’ late salary payments.  There was another, larger strike in 1997. It started with a contract dispute between Deportivo Español and six players who were requesting to become free agents due to a breach of payment.  Captains and vice-captains of the First Division clubs decided on a general strike across all football divisions in solidarity with the claim. The stoppage would go on between July 22 and August 4, when Judge Juan Garibotto allowed the players to be released from their contracts, with the AFA becoming the guarantor before the club’s creditors.