Milei wades into AFAs row with Estudiantes over Rosario salute

President Javier Milei has once again sided with football team Estudiantes de La Plata after its players were ordered to salute rivals Rosario Central, who had controversially been awarded a newly-created trophy. His support comes amid an ongoing dispute between the president and the Argentine Football Association (AFA) over whether to allow the country’s football clubs to become private sporting corporations, known in Spanish as SADs.  Estudiantes was the only club to fully back Milei’s plans to transition towards the SAD model. On Thursday, the AFA announced that Rosario Central, which had finished first in the annual table, would be crowned as 2025 Liga Profesional champions.  It was a big and sudden change to the tournament’s rules: the annual table, which aggregates points from the first and second semester tournaments, has not awarded trophies for several seasons. It has only been used to determine which clubs have earned a spot in international competitions and which will be relegated. Fans and journalists questioned the decision, which was seen as favoritism towards a team that featured Qatar 2022 star Ángel Di María. The statement by the AFA said the decision had been taken “unanimously” by the AFA executive committee, meaning the presidents of every club had voted in favor of the idea — but Estudiantes disputed that claim. “Club Estudiantes de La Plata informs […] that, at the Argentine Professional Football League executive committee meeting, no vote was taken regarding the 2025 League Champions title,” the club said in a statement. Fans complained that Central had been crowned league champions despite never playing against 13 of the 30 teams in the league because of the tournament’s format. Snubbing a salute to Central On Friday, Argentine football’s governing body announced that Estudiantes had to salute Rosario Central with a guard of honor when the teams entered the pitch for the first round of the 2025 Torneo Clausura playoffs on Sunday. To many, the move felt like payback, since other recent champions had not received similar treatment and clubs, including Rosario Central themselves, had ignored instructions to provide a guard of honor — when players from the other side line the tunnel to receive their opponents in a display of respect. The situation escalated when Estudiantes players who had lined up for the guard turned their backs as the Rosario Central squad walked in, effectively defying the AFA’s order. “It’s their issue, they still did the guard,” said Di María after the match, which ended in a 1-0 win for Estudiantes, admitting the Pincharrata players had alerted them of their protest beforehand.  “We didn’t ask for this, the big teams wanted it and we accepted it,” he added. “Every club president approved it, so we don’t feel guilty. We feel like champions.” Delayed punishments After the match, the referee reported that Estudiantes players hadn’t respected the protocol. The AFA decided to sanction the club, citing a resolution stating that “those who perform the champions guard must stay in their place, looking at the players entering” and that “any mocking or provocatory gestures or manifestations against the public, the referees or the rival team that undermines the spirit of the guard is banned.” The resolution was drawn from Bulletin no. 6625 — but, while the document was dated February 2025, social media users posted videos showing that when they accessed the AFA’s document, the timestamp indicated it was created during Rosario Central and Estudiantes’ match. The issue over the date attracted a shower of criticism, deepening the controversy.  The governing body denied accusations that they had created a backdated document for the purposes of punishing Estudiantes. AFA’s powerful treasurer, Pablo Toviggino, posted a message that many interpreted as a threat against Estudiantes president Juan Sebastián Verón. “What a year we and you have coming up. Watch out, beret guy,” he wrote. “Better fulfil the rules established by the governing body, the AFA.” Over the following days, the president tweeted pictures and messages in support of Estudiantes, including photos taken during his meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar with an Estudiantes jersey draped over the presidential chair.