The Competition Court of the Association of Clubs (ADC) applied harsh sanctions to Colón de Santa Fe and Atlético Pilar due to serious financial breaches. According to the official report, both teams have been suspended from their affiliation “for an indefinite period” as of November 21. This measure implies that “all matches and points played by the clubs will be considered lost” from that date, which affects their position in the Argentine League significantly. The decision seeks to preserve the financial integrity of the tournament and sanction the lack of institutional responsibility.
The report clarifies that, although the matches are considered lost for Colón and Atlético Pilar, “no additional points will be awarded to their current rivals.” This detail underlines the objective of the sanction: to penalize the offending institutions without benefiting third parties. The suspension becomes a wake-up call for other clubs that may be in compromised financial situations, highlighting the need to comply with financial commitments to avoid similar sanctions.
In the specific case of Colón, this resolution occurs in a context of internal crisis, with massive resignations in its basketball subcommittee and accusations of “leadership detachment.” The accumulated debt, which includes unpaid salaries and uncovered operating costs, has put the team’s continuity in the League at risk. The Court also decided on a claim from Racing and a marker from Quilmes and Unión de Mar del Plata.
The complete statement from the Argentine League:
In the last few hours, the Competition Court of the Association of Clubs published an extensive report with the resolutions corresponding to several issues that have arisen in recent days.
The main one has to do with the change of winner in the match between Racing de Avellaneda and El Talar, on November 17, which ended with a victory for El Talar by 82-81. After the protest presented by the Avellaneda team for an error in the operation of the 24-second clock in the final moments, which caused the referee review and the subsequent basket by El Talar in the last second, the Court resolves:
- At the moment the game was stopped, the ball should have been awarded to the Avellaneda Racing Team with the few remaining seconds that remained.
- Having ended the match at that moment with the score favorable to the Racing de Avellaneda team.
- The review of the game situation should not have been carried out.
- In this case, which was to be reviewed, it was carried out in an inefficient manner, since it was not analyzed globally and not taking into account all the regulatory aspects, as well as the IRS Review Protocol that is in force.
Due to the issues analyzed here by the Technical Commission, this Court resolves:
- Make room for the protest carried out by the Racing Club of Avellaneda.
- Consider Racing Club de Avellaneda won the match 81 to 80.
Another of the main resolutions has to do with the sanction applied to the Colón and Atlético Pilar clubs. Both clubs had their membership suspended for an indefinite period since last November 21 due to financial non-compliance. In the report, it is detailed: “Deem all matches and points disputed to the clubs as lost” from that date. It is worth clarifying that in this case, the corresponding points will be deducted but no additional points will be awarded to their rivals on duty.
Regarding the match on 11/21 between Quilmes and Unión de Mar del Plata, the Court analyzed the protest received and decided to modify the final result of the match, which had been 71-66 in favor of Quilmes, to the final 69-66. It was concluded that, as a result of an error by the control table, two extra points had been improperly awarded to Quilmes. This decision does not change the winning team, but it does change the final difference between the two.
