BUENOS AIRES.- The treasurer of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Pablo Tovigginoappeared before the court this Wednesday to testify in a case for alleged tax evasion for which the president of the entity must appear on Thursday, Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia.
Tapia, Toviggino and two other AFA leaders are being investigated to determine if the association improperly withheld and omitted to deposit money for taxes and retirement contributions between 2024 and 2025 for an amount close to 19,000 million pesos (about 13 million dollars).
“To live is to try. And whoever tries, inevitably stumbles. We fall when we fail, when we make mistakes, when we trust in those we should not,” Toviggino wrote in X before going to court, quoting a text attributed to the deceased Pope Francis.
The AFA attributes the legal case to alleged persecution by the ultraliberal government of Javier Mileiwith whose administration he has had a confrontation for months.
Milei promotes the conversion of football clubs from non-profit entities to sports corporations, a model that most teams reject.
Suspension of local day
In solidarity with Tapia and those accused, the clubs suspended the ninth date of the first division soccer tournament that was to be played between March 5 and 8 and also the activity of the rest of the categories.
After the call to testify, the AFA stated in a statement that “it does not have any debt payable for the tax obligations that have been taken as support for the complaint filed by ARCA”, the tax collection entity behind the complaint.
In a hearing set for next Wednesday, the Court of Appeals in economic criminal matters must rule on a claim by the accused regarding the alleged non-existence of the crime.
Due to this file, Tapia and the rest of the investigated leaders are prohibited from leaving the country, unless expressly authorized by the justice system.
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.
