A key expert report confirmed the authenticity of the executives' signatures on the representation contract for the Argentina National Team's friendly matches
The legal dispute between the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and businessman Guillermo Tofoni has added a key element in recent hours. A new expert report has confirmed that the representation contract for the organization of friendly matches of the national team shows no alterations and that the signatures attributed to the disgracedClaudio "Chiqui" Tapiaand Pablo Tovigginoare authentic.
The conclusion arises from a report submitted by Horacio López Peña, a national public handwriting expert who acts as a technical consultant for the plaintiff, who confirmed the conclusions of the official expert report already incorporated into the case. According to what he recorded before the court, the analysis was carried out on the original documents and together with the expert appointed by the Court, with full agreement on the results.
The opinion expressly states that "there are no alterations or adulterations" in the contract identified as Annex 13, corresponding to the exclusive representation agreement between AFA and Tofoni. In addition, it keeps that the signatures appearing in the document and attributed to the president and the treasurer of the entity "were made by their own hands and in their own handwriting".
Las firmas fueron hechas "por sus respectivos puños y letras"
The new report supports what had already been determined by the official handwriting expert Liliana Quintana, who had reached the same conclusion after comparing the disputed signatures with unquestionable writing samples. That expert report was added at the end of last year to the commercial case in which the repudiation of the contract is being discussed.
The conflict originated from the lawsuit filed by Tofoni, head of World Eleven Inc., who reported that AFA nullified the agreement that allowed his company to organize friendly matches for the Argentina national team. According to the case file, the businessman maintained that, after the triumph in the Qatar 2022 World Cup, he was removed and the contract ceased to be recognized by the leadership of the entity.
In this context, AFA attempted to challenge the validity of the document and to deny the authenticity of the signatures, a point that has now been dismissed by the expert reports added to the case file. The commercial case is still being processed in the court headed by Javier Cosentino.
La AFA había intentado desmentir esas firmas
In parallel, Tofoni is pursuing criminal complaints against Tapia, Toviggino, and businessman Javier Faroni for alleged fraudulent administration. Those proceedings were initiated in the national criminal court of first instance, were later referred to the federal jurisdiction of Lomas de Zamora, and are currently pending a final decision on jurisdiction by the Criminal Court of Appeals.
The case also falls within a broader judicial scenario related to the management of AFA funds abroad. In recent weeks, the courts found a contract signed in 2021 between the entity and TourProdEnter LLC, a company linked to Faroni, which granted exclusivity for the collection of international revenues, with a commission scheme that included 30% of commercial revenues and an additional 10% for logistics tasks.
