The labor judge ordered the AFA to compensate an arbitrator for “non-pecuniary damage” and ordered him to reinstate him within five days. In addition, he has applied a fine and costs, so he will have to face millionaire expenses. Judge Viviana Dobarrio says in her 13-page ruling that the association led by Claudio Tapia has performed well “anti-union” AND “discriminatory”. It all happens in the middle of a union battle and at the local arbiter’s worst time.

Maximiliano Salado Paz, 38, from Tucumán, had ceased to be designated for matches due to his decision to remain in the Union of Referees of the Argentine Republic (SADRA) in conflict with the management of Viamonte 1366.

“I started refereeing, as the main referee. Since they didn’t like my height, I turned to being an assistant. In 2019 I was playing in the First National Team, all the games in Buenos Aires, with good chances of promotion until all this problem came. And they started sending me to Federal A. In 2021 I only led two parties and never again”, says Salado Paz clarion.

“At first, because the change was so abrupt, it hit me really hard. I was so close to playing in the First Division and came to nothing. I was sharing a small group, doing the preseason, I had a dream of going international… And it took a long time due to legal issues,” he added.

In its defence, the AFA argued that Gustavo Bassi, in charge of internal referees, had separated Tucuman for “unsatisfactory” duties, which could not be proven, since Salado Paz showed up at all training sessions and complied the assigned tasks.

The Labor Court No. 21 gave rise to the protection of SADRA and the magistrate was very harsh in his considerations. According to the sentence, Salado Paz “The subjects who were entrusted to him to arbitrate progressively decreased until they ceased to entrust him with these tasks, a circumstance which, according to the elements provided, is linked to his membership of a specific trade union and which, according to the testimony given, also influenced other persons affiliated to said association, in particular SADRA; without the defendant accrediting any objective circumstance justifying his proceeding”.

In total, the AFA has to pay one million pesos plus interest to the referee, another million as a fine for “unfair practice” and nearly two million in fees for the lawyers involved in the trial and the accountant. Also, you have to pay the justice fee.

Salado Paz’s case is not the first to win the legal battle. Another 20 injunctions have already been filed, and so far all cases have been trumps of shelved judges. There is a confrontation between Tapia and Guillermo Marconi, secretary general of SADRA, who openly criticizes Federico Beligoy, director of referee training, because he is the head of the men in black and is also in charge of the Argentina Referees Association (AAA ). ).