Rodolfo D’Onofrio urged clubs to "not be afraid" to question Chiqui Tapia

The relationship between River and the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has been going through a phase marked by administrative differences for several years. The stance of the Núñez club regarding the leadership of the corrupt Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia has been exposed again in recent weeks, and now it has gained the support of a significant voice from the institution's recent past: Rodolfo D’Onofrio.

The former president of the Millonario spoke on Radio Rivadavia and backed the need for clubs to express their concerns without being conditioned by possible sporting consequences. "What needs to be done right now is to tell the president of the AFA the things we disagree with, the things we find wrong. That is what clubs need to do: have the courage, not be afraid", he stated.

To reinforce his position, D’Onofrio recalled an experience he went through during the FIFA-Gate, when he participated in a FIFA presidential election. He recounted that he had shared a dinner with officials who ended up being arrested the next day, and despite the context, along with other representatives, he decided to vote for Prince Ali bin Al Hussein instead of Joseph Blatter.

"And that day we had to vote the next morning for Blatter or not, and we voted for the prince. And of course, what happened in Argentina? They were afraid: ‘Uh, now we won’t win anymore, we’re… we won’t qualify anymore’. Because there is always fear in Argentina and in the world. And what happened? Blatter resigned", he reminisced.

The memory of Tapia's election

The former president of River related that experience in FIFA to his relationship with Tapia and recalled that the institution decided not to support the current AFA president in the 2017 elections. "River, in 2017, when Tapia was a candidate for president, vice president Angelici and second vice president Moyano, we decided at that moment to vote blank. I called Tapia to tell him ‘tomorrow you will have a blank envelope from River’", he shared.

Additionally, he assured that during the subsequent period the club remained outside the Executive Committee and, even so, did not suffer any consequences. "We were four years without being in the Executive Committee and no, nobody punished us, nobody did anything we didn’t like for not being there", he pointed out.

Based on that precedent, D’Onofrio sought to reassure the Millonario fans and defended the decision to maintain an independent stance towards the AFA. "We were right not to vote for Blatter. We were right. So, there are things that one has to maintain in some way, as the president said very well, dignity", he affirmed.

And he added: "And I tell all River fans: guys, in the four years that we didn’t vote for Tapia, we won all the championships we won".

A difference that has lasted for years

The differences between River and the AFA leadership did not begin with the current administration. During his presidency, D’Onofrio expressed his opposition to the elimination of relegations and defended on various occasions the need to return to a championship with fewer teams. This stance was later upheld by Jorge Brito, his successor, who criticized the current format of 30 participants and labeled the tournament as “destructive".

The institutional distancing also deepened after various decisions made by the AFA, which led the club to decide in March of this year to withdraw for the second time from the Executive Committee of the governing body of Argentine football.

Currently, Stefano Di Carlo maintains a critical line similar to that of his predecessors. A few weeks ago, the current president summarized his position with a phrase that gained traction within the River leadership: "Dignity is not negotiable".