BUENOS AIRES.- An Argentine judge formally accused the Argentine Football Association (AFA), to its president Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia and other leaders of the entity that governs the world champion team for tax evasionin a ruling released this Monday.
The court ordered Tapia’s prosecution for “improper appropriation of taxes” and “improper appropriation of social security resources” and imposed an embargo for 350 million pesos (about $250,000).
The AFA as a legal entity was also prosecuted and seized for these crimes, and the judge ordered the same for four other leaders of the entity, including Tapia’s right-hand man, Pablo Toviggino.
The ruling responds to a criminal complaint from the tax collection entity ARKwhich accused the AFA and its directors of improper withholdings and non-payment of taxes and social security contributions for about 19,000 million pesos (about 13 million dollars).
Tapia and the other four defendants appeared on March 12 before the judge in the case.
- The AFA affirmed that the debts are non-existent and attributed the cause to pressure from the ultra-liberal government Javier Milei.
The Argentine president promotes the conversion of clubs from non-profit entities to sports corporations, a model resisted by the teams and incompatible with the AFA statutes.
The clubs suspended the ninth date of the First Division Professional League that was to be played between March 5 and 8 in solidarity with those reported.
In addition to this cause, the powerful football organization chaired by Tapia since 2017 is being investigated for possible money laundering, a case for which the organization was raided last December to investigate its dealings with a private financial company.
Uruguayan Martín Satriano moves to Getafe
He Lyon announced this Monday the definitive transfer for six million euros (6.88 million dollars) of its Uruguayan striker Martin Satriano to the Getafewhere he had been playing on loan since January.
25 years old, Satriano had arrived at Lyon from the Lens in 2025 on loan, before the operation became a final transfer for five million euros in January 2026.
He was loaned to Getafe right after this transfer.
