Pablo Toviggino, Claudio Tapia’s right-hand man who countered Carlos Tevez and showed his power in AFA

Central Barracks AND Independent They drew 2-2 in a match corresponding to date 9 of Zone A. League Cup. This is what the statistics say, but what happened at the Ducó stadium, where the Handsome It was local, it was a hot night, full of controversy and with a scandal that saw several protagonists: one of these is Carlos Tevezanother is the referee Pablo Dovaloand there is a third, Pablo Toviggino.

It was all because of a play. The statistics said that Barracas did “very well” (so to speak). Pablo Dovalo, and who directed it quite often. Chiqui Tapia’s club had lost only 3 of the 23 matches in which the 47-year-old judge had been “designated”, both in the First Division and in Promotion. That number had been revealed in the previous one, by Avellaneda, anticipating that every decision of the “pito” would be observed with a magnifying glass. And so it happened.

Alessio Dominguez he was with the iron against Ivan Marcone, and Dóvalo gave a yellow card to the Barracas scorer. The replay showed the violence of the action, and there was VAR, directed by Luis Lobo Medina, who decided not to call the main referee to review it. That omission, strange, surprising, scandalous, lit the fuse for Carlos Tevez and all of Independiente. He blew it at the Apache.

“We knew that we would play against 14, I told the players in the dressing room. I think this boy (Dóvalo) has to start finishing it, because it is very difficult, he shits on the work of the boys, of the club. It becomes very evident, which is the thing more worrying. We said that Dóvalo already has a history with Barracas. It’s like a stream that tells you that at 3 in the afternoon he will come to your house and they will rob you and at 3 in the afternoon they will rob you. It’s madness. They cheated us”, the DT fired.

Pablo Tovigginothe treasurer of the AFA, called him out on Twitter with several comments and hints that did nothing but throw fuel on the fire that broke out in the guest locker room of the Huracán.

“Since you weren’t so studious in the DT course (I mean through the Analytical) there are certainly things that you see confused. Strange of you, while you were playing you committed fouls and they only ended in yellow!! Even I didn’t listen to you in some previous games, which I reserve. Anyway, Wind Memory!!!”, wrote Toviggino, right-hand man of Claudio Tapia and a strong man in that field that combines sport, business and national politics.

In his text, Toviggino hit Tevez in the points that hurt the former footballer the most. He questioned his coaching license, he recalled the football with which he fractured Ezequiel ham and concluded by mentioning his connection with Maurizio Macri invest in wind farm projects. But in addition to crossing Tevez, Toviggino broke a code that he respected from the shadows: making himself visible to everyone.

Emerging from an environment other than football, that of equestrianism, Toviggino made a name for himself in the environment starting from a small club in Santiago del Estero, and in partnership with Tapia he managed to extend his influence to football in the rest of the provinces first and then the AFA. In 2020 he was appointed treasurer of the Executive Committee for the period 2021-2025, and is one of the few who not only retains his position but expands his power under the wing of the “Commander”, as he calls Tapia.

His arrival at the AFA generated more appointments, he was a member of the Regularization Committee of the AFA, vice president of Barracas Central and president of the Federal Council. All this at the age of 44, without losing the leadership of the League of Santiago, a province that until ten years ago had no weight on the map of Argentine football, and which today, thanks to the bond with the governor Gerardo Zamora, has with first-class teams division and a first-class stadium where the finals and matches of the Argentine national team are played. The so-called Single Mother of Cities stadium was announced in 2018, had an investment of 1.5 billion pesos and was inaugurated three years later, with a match between River and Racing.

Toviggino was the same leader, for example, involved in the campaign against Javier Milei in the days preceding the presidential ballot, in relation to the controversy with the Societies for Sports Actions, which called Sergio Massa to vote.

Indicated as the architect of the controversial changes that modified the promotions and relegations of the Argentine football categories, Toviggino found himself at the crossroads of every leader who dared to question the organization of the tournaments, as when he attacked Jorge Brito, president of River, or Sebastián Verón , of Estudiantes. Now it was Tevez’s turn.

Apache’s response to Toviggino

After having achieved catharsis and vented all his anger against Dóvale’s refereeing, Tevez found Toviggino’s message and was unable to contain himself, even though on the night of Ducó he was asked if it was he who responded to the treasurer of the AFA.

“It seems to me that so many comings and goings at the Pilar are making you lose a little, Toviggino. Apart from the collection of old and imported cars that you accumulate at the Pilar, also the burying of the suitcases that you brought from Qatar and the friendlies in China, I remember Ali Baba,” shook the Apache, near nightfall. Was it him or a fake account?

Even though he has more than 200 thousand followers on Twitter, Rojo’s press first warned that the account was not Carlitos’, although they later had to clarify that it was his. It’s clear, in Avellaneda they were trying to calm things down against the AFA and the crossing between Tevez and Toviggino didn’t help much.

At this moment there is a summit in Villa Domínico, where the Independiente team trains under the command of Carlos Tevez. President Néstor Grindetti, accompanied by Cristian Ritondo, came to give his support to the team but also to calm the scandal and focus on sport, which is a good omen.

El Rojo is having a good championship, starting first alongside Instituto, and on the next date they will have to host River in a match that could be fundamental. Then he will have to visit Deportivo Riestra, but that will be another story.