Javier Castrilli, an iconic former referee who officiated in the country during the 1980s and 1990s, has reignited controversy by launching strong criticism against the leadership of Argentine football's refereeing. In an interview with Radio Rivadavia, he stated that the system currently governing refereeing is "based on fear, manipulation, and the buying of wills," and that the crisis is as deep as it is predictable for those who closely follow the subject.
Castrilli stated that "refereeing has been used to build power through fear and hope" and that those who lead that network "choose terror, govern like a dictatorship." According to his perspective, behind the current management there is a circuit of interests where "dirty money" circulates, intended to "buy the will of officials." For the former referee, much of that structure was consolidated in football outside Buenos Aires: "They built power there; Toviggino was always involved and saw the business," he pointed out.
La estructura corrupta de árbitro viene desde el fútbol del interior
The former referee emphasized that nothing that is happening should come as a surprise. "The press is taking note now that it has reached the First Division, but this has been happening for years," he said. He even recalled that in 2018 he had already warned about what was coming: "I told Mariano Closs that we hadn't seen the worst yet."
Castrilli was also harsh with the current group of referees occupying central positions. He stated that he considered them "hitmen" and that the teams "knew they were going to be executed." He added that the problem has already surpassed any margin of doubt: "The suspicion no longer exists. Even if they want to officiate well, they can't."
In closing, he drew a comparison with Julio Grondona's era. Although he clarified that the historic official "was not a saint," he highlighted that he applied a strict rule: "At the slightest suspicion about a referee, he would stop officiating." According to Castrilli, the absence of that control is one of the reasons for the deterioration currently affecting Argentine refereeing.
