Unbelievable: The AFA Disciplinary Tribunal has opened a case against Estudiantes for the guard of honor to Rosario Central

The back-turned guard of honor performed by Estudiantes de La Plata's players during the entrance of Rosario Central yesterday caused an immediate reaction from the Argentine Football Association (AFA), which decided to formally proceed with an investigation. The gesture, carried out as a protest over the recent title awarded to Canalla, resulted in an unprecedented case file in local football.

The Sports Disciplinary Tribunal initiated proceedings after receiving the referee's report from Pablo Dóvalo, who recorded the incident in the official system. The measure was documented in Bulletin No. 6793 Bis, authorized on November 24, 2025, where the steps to follow are detailed.

According to the document, Estudiantes' management, its president, and captain Santiago Núñez have 48 hours to review the case file and submit a statement regarding the alleged breach of the tribute protocol established by the AFA. The governing body also requires the club to explain the reasons behind the players' actions.

The Tribunal also notified a group of identified players mentioned in the report (Piovi, Palacios, Murillo, González Pirez, Alario, among others) who must respond within the same period and confirm whether they received instructions to carry out the protest. The summons is nominal and seeks to individualize responsibilities within the squad.

For now, the Tribunal's final decision remains unknown. The episode is unprecedented in Argentina and occurs in a context of tension between the AFA leadership and Juan Sebastián Verón, president of Pincha. In this scenario, some are already speculating about the possibility of a sanction, as happened years ago with Andrés Fassi, president of Talleres.

Additionally, the Tribunal clarified that this procedure doesn't replace the submissions that clubs must make through the COMET system in the event of any disciplinary incident. Meanwhile, the case remains open and the investigation is progressing with all parties already summoned to testify.

The full bulletin from the Disciplinary Tribunal

ROSARIO CENTRAL and ESTUDIANTES DE LA PLATA: 98421:

The present proceedings were initiated ex officio (art. 51° Inc. f) due to the behavior of Estudiantes de La Plata's squad before the start of the match held on November 23, 2025, against Club Atlético Rosario Central, in relation to the tribute protocol established in the Association's resolutions and published in the Official Bulletin and

CONSIDERING:

That, before making a final decision, it is necessary to guarantee the right of defense of those involved, in accordance with the provisions of art. 38 of the AFA Disciplinary Code;

Therefore, the authorizing members,

RESOLVE:

1°) TO NOTIFY Estudiantes de La Plata, its Board of Directors, its President, and the team captain, Mr. Núñez Santiago Misael, for a period of FORTY-EIGHT (48) HOURS, so that, in accordance with art. 38 and 49 inc. 9 of the AFA Disciplinary Code, they may become aware of the facts under investigation and present their defense and/or statement regarding the possible breach of the provisions of the Official Bulletin of the Argentine Football Association published on February 12, 2025.

2°) TO NOTIFY the players:

Muslera Micol, Néstor Fernando, Gómez Román Agustín, Núñez Santiago Misael, Palacios Tiago Azael, Farias Facundo Hernán, González Pires Leandro Martín, Arzamendia Santiago Daniel, Cetré Angulo Edwuin Stiven, Piovi Lucas Ezequiel, Medina Cristian Nicolás, Amondarain Mikel Jesús, and Leandro González Pirez and Lucas Alario so that, within the same period of FORTY-EIGHT (48) HOURS, they may exercise their right of defense and indicate whether they received instructions regarding the measure taken.

3°) This notification doesn't replace the one that both clubs must directly obtain from the COMET system regarding disciplinary incidents that occurred during the match.

4°) BE ADVISED that failure to appear within the specified period will not prevent this Tribunal from making a decision based on the records in the case file, in accordance with the AFA Disciplinary Code.