Chiqui Tapia responded to River after leaving the AFA Executive Committee

The corrupt president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, referred for the first time to the decision of River stopped participating in Executive Committee meetings and responded with irony to the possibility that other clubs would adopt the same

The leader spoke this Saturday in Córdoba, within the framework of a meeting of the Federal Council, after the Millionaire released a statement a few days ago in which he announced that he will retire from that area of leadership considering that there are no “clear and predictable mechanisms” for decision-making

Asked about the position of the Núñez club and the possibility of more institutions joining, Tapia answered with irony: “Oh, are they more? I didn't know.” He then recalled the situation he encountered when he became head of the AFA in 2017. “When we took office, River was not on the Executive Committee. Neither River nor San Lorenzo. There were five teams that weren't part of it,” he said

River's statement, released this week, confirmed the institutional link with the AFA and its defense of the non-profit civil association model, but at the same time it expressed its disagreement with the current functioning of the governing body and the 30-team tournament.

“River Plate believes deeply in the harmonious functioning of institutions and in the value of collegial bodies for decision-making. However, he understands that in the current functioning of the Executive Committee there are no procedural guarantees necessary to ensure a clear and predictable process in the decision-making of that body,” the club said in the text

The position of the Núñez team generated repercussions within Argentine football.

At the same meeting in Córdoba, the AFA treasurer, Pablo Toviggino, also took the floor, who was thrilled to talk about the support that, he said, the organization's leadership receives. “How can I not be excited when I see that Argentine football supports him? It's the only thing we work for. Let them not be forgotten. We don't do it for politics or for leaders, we do it for this,” he said.

Tapia's statement took place in a particular context for local football: this weekend there was no activity in any category due to a strike launched by the leadership in protest against accusations of tax evasion involving the AFA and some of its managers, a situation that inside they interpret as an attempt to attack the national government

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