River Plate is currently facing a congested schedule as head coach Leonardo Ponzio prepares his squad for an upcoming Torneo Clausura fixture against Sarmiento in Junín. Club executives are simultaneously battling ongoing scheduling resistance from the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA).
River Plate locked in calendar clash with AFA over Sarmiento fixture
Despite requests from the Núñez club to postpone the match due to international duty call-ups ending just a day prior, the fixture remains locked into the official Liga Profesional calendar for Wednesday, October 7.
International duty creates a 24-hour turnaround
The core of the scheduling conflict stems from the FIFA international window, which concludes on Tuesday, October 6. On that final day of the break, the Argentina national team faces Benin at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires in a match serving as a farewell tribute to Lionel Messi.
Lionel Scaloni has called up several River players for national team duty, including Santiago Beltrán, Nicolás Otamendi, and Tobías Andrada. In addition, former River standouts Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuña have been invited to participate in the ceremony honoring Argentina’s 2022 FIFA World Cup champions from Qatar.
Because these players will be occupied with national team commitments until the conclusion of the international window, River officials formally requested that the AFA reschedule their Round 11 Zona B clash against Sarmiento, originally set for October 7.
Although initial indications suggested the governing body might grant the postponement, the official fixture list has not been updated, leaving the match scheduled just 24 hours after the national team’s fixture in Buenos Aires.
Proposed dates rejected by league organizers
Within the Núñez front office, the proposed solution involved maintaining the subsequent Round 12 fixture against Estudiantes de Río Cuarto—nicknamed “León del Imperio”—on the weekend of October 10, while moving the Sarmiento match to Wednesday, October 14.
River leadership maintains that as the club supplying the highest number of players to international squads during the break, the schedule adjustment is warranted. However, league organizers have yet to accommodate the request.
Institutional friction between Núñez and the governing body
The scheduling impasse arrives amid heightened institutional tension between River and the AFA. During a recent Executive Committee meeting described by observers as hostile toward River representative Ignacio Villarroel, league officials indicated that structural reforms proposed by the club would not be addressed until the 2028 season.
Shortly after that meeting, the AFA released a modified statement requesting that River waive rental fees for the national team’s use of the Monumental stadium for its friendlies, suggesting the funds instead be directed to a charitable organization. That request coincided with the launch of ticket sales for Argentina’s fixtures at elevated price points, and followed the annual fundraising dinner held by the Fundación River.
Squad preparations continue amid uncertainty
With preparations continuing at the River training complex, the squad scheduled a friendly match against Vélez Sarsfield to maintain competitive rhythm during the prolonged league pause.
Ponzio and his technical staff must now plan for the Sarmiento fixture under the assumption that the original mid-week date will stand, unless league authorities issue a late calendar revision.
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