In recent weeks, the figure of Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), was at the center of the controversy. Sectors of football, clubs and public opinion question the transparency of his management and the management of the institution he presides over. These criticisms deepened in the context of an investigation into alleged irregularities that point to his leadership.
In this scenario, the head of the General Inspection of Justice (IGJ), Daniel Vítolo, redoubled the pressure against the AFA due to the lack of responses to requests for explanations that have been coming for years.
In the program Futuro Imperfecto on Radio con vos, Vítolo explained that upon arriving at the organization he found “a delay in the explanations requested from the AFA as a civil association regarding certain amounts that appeared in its balance sheets in a concentrated or globalized form.”
As detailed, the entity presented significant sums without differentiating what each of the income and expenses referred to, which caught the attention of the controls.
The head of IGJ stressed that this situation did not arise “now”, but rather has been recurring for several administrations. “This comes from a long time ago, it is not from now, because the government of Macri, Alberto Fernández and now that of President Milei did it, reviewed it and warned it,” he expressed.
Since 2017, every time the AFA presented its balance sheets—an obligation it has to the IGJ—the organization responded that it could not approve them until it clarified those global items. “We are not denouncing that the AFA is committing irregularities, that the money is ill-gotten or badly spent, that the figures do not correspond. What we are asking is that you explain the global amounts. If you say that you spent, for example, 10 million dollars on national teams, say what you spent it on,” said Vítolo.
Asked if this could lead to a judicial investigation, the official pointed out that the IGJ is not auditing balance sheets with that objective. “First, what we need to know is this global figure. This could constitute a crime, of course, if there were inappropriate, fraudulent or non-existent expenses within these items. But it is something that cannot be determined today, because it is not known what there is.” For this reason, he stated that they are asking for the information to be opened under threat of sanctions.
In the event that the AFA does not comply with providing this data, a fine could be applied or even the designation of reporting observers to review and verify the use of these resources.
Despite this, Vítolo maintained that the maximum sanction that he can apply is to recommend to the Ministry of Justice an intervention by the entity. Although he avoided confirming that this step is being analyzed, he said he was confident that “after everything that has been said and everything that has come to light, the AFA is going to open these accounts.”
The official also highlighted the surveys that show social rejection of Tapia’s management, with strong discomfort among people who view the lack of transparency in the management of resources with distrust. In that sense, he pointed out that the AFA handles large sums of money as it is one of the most important institutions in Argentine sports and that, precisely for this reason, not finding detailed explanations about how these funds are spent “generates suspicion.”
