AFA strikes back at Bullrich, accuses government of trying to intervene in football

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) said it “won’t give [the government] the right” to intervene in football, in a 2,500-word statement it published on Monday.  It comes after Senator Patricia Bullrich reported the association’s president, Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, and treasurer, Pablo Toviggino, to the ethics committee of CONMEBOL, South American football’s governing body. In her complaint, the former Security Minister questioned what AFA was doing with “the money that comes in through advertising and the national team”, after 54 luxury vehicles were seized in a raid on a 10-hectare mansion in Pilar, province of Buenos Aires, suspected by the judiciary to be owned by Tapia. The AFA’s board defended itself from accusations of corruption, claiming it found “an institution in ruins” when they took over in 2017, amid a crisis generated by the death of long-time president Julio Grondona in 2014, and an infamous election in 2015, which ended 38-38 despite 75 votes being cast. “Since then, we began working to put the accounts in order, restore credibility, and return the institution to the prestige it deserves,” the statement reads. The communiqué goes on to enumerate a list of achievements, including the AFAs’ current economic surplus “without a single taxpayer peso,” and the 1,300 staff the institution employs. It also insists TV rights and national team friendly match income goes into funding the clubs, in response to Bullrich’s complaint. According to the AFA statement, the organization achieved all this despite constant attacks from different governments that “chose the AFA as the target of its political ambitions.”  The statement lists “constant threats of intervention” under Mauricio Macri’s presidency, public complaints by Alberto Fernández and a “coordinated attack” since Javier Milei took office. AFA points to an “attempt to obstruct the AFA Assembly,” as well as the government’s push to “impose sports corporations,” and increasing the tax rate paid by football clubs. “Since we took over in 2017, we’ve always prioritized football over partisan political issues,” AFA claims. “We never allowed the Copa América and World Cup champions to be used politically. Our teams do not represent a political party, but rather a country.” The statement goes on to list every Argentine team club and national team to feature in an international final since 2017.  It also criticizes several Milei administration political projects like the labor and penal code reform bills, and mentions “more than 90,000 jobs lost from November 2023 to date” and over “20 major national companies and factories closing”. Bullrich’s complaint Earlier on Monday, Senator Patricia Bullrich announced she had filed a complaint with the ethics committee of CONMEBOL, the South American football confederation. “They must thoroughly investigate this mafia that runs the AFA and tarnishes Argentine football,” Bullrich posted on X. Bullrich’s complaint comes as Argentina’s judiciary is conducting a major money laundering probe into AFA-linked financial company Sur Finanzas and its owner Ariel Vallejo. Sur Finanzas has sponsored the Copa de la Liga Profesional tournament twice, and several Argentine clubs have worked with the company. In 2023, Vallejo said that he and Tapia had a “very nice relationship.” The offices of the AFA and 17 football clubs were raided last week, including major names like Racing, San Lorenzo, and Independiente.