AFA vs Government War: the IGJ accepted the appeal presented by Chiqui Tapia and now everything remains in the hands of the National Court of Appeals

The war between Argentine Football Federation and the government of Javier Milei added a new chapter in the last hours of this Thursday after the General inspection of justice (IGJ) will accept the appeal presented by the lawyers of the parent company of baseball and will raise the dispute National Court of Civil Appeals the dossier that calls into question the legitimacy and validity of the Ordinary General Assembly of last October 17 in which the early re-election was carried out Claudio Chiqui Tapia and the suspension of relegations for the 2024 season First Division.

The IGJ, commanded by the man from Mendoza Daniel Roque Vitologranted the AFA the possibility to present a protection appeal – although Viamonte 1366 had not yet sent the official report – and did so with “revolution effect”. Consequently, until the judges assigned by draw decide otherwise, the resolution that prevented the discussion of the last eight items on the agenda of the Assembly held at the Lionel Andrés Messi facility remains in force. Therefore, Still to be seen are Tapia’s third term, the move to Ezeiza and the abolition of relegations.

Now everything was left in the hands of the Section D of the National Court of Civil Appeals of the Federal Capital, composed of the judge Gabriele Rollerithe surrogate Massimiliano Caia and the secretary Daniele Pittala.

“The Chamber must first assess whether the appeal has been correctly accepted by the IGJ and then, if so, transfer it to the Inspectorate General of Justice for five days to respond to the AFA’s arguments in its appeal,” judicial sources explained. When will it be resolved? The maids still have to wait for all these bureaucratic procedures to be completed before they start studying the file. For now it is not possible to calculate the times.

The AFA, through its Legal Department, had appealed last Friday against the IGJ’s resolution which had declared a part of the Ordinary General Assembly invalid. The letter, approximately 60 pages long, asked for the revocation of the resolution of the body dependent on the Ministry of Justice, while at the same time targeting President Milei, whom it blamed for this short circuit and accused of having attempted to “force entry of Sports Anonymous Societies”.

“Since the beginning of the mandate, they have launched a prolonged public offensive against the AFA and its authorities, through which they have attempted to force SAD’s entry into Argentine football, specifically demanding its admission as members of my client, despite this is expressly provided for by the AFA Statute in this regard”, we read among other things in the writing.

Attack and counterattack between the AFA and the Milei Government

Milei is determined not to give in. In one of his last television interviews, the president once again criticized Chiqui Tapia and the leadership. “It is one of the most important battles to fight. First of all because Argentina is the nursery of the world, that is, the best footballers in the world come from here and we could have a local championship of much better quality if it were not for the shady management that has l ‘AFA”, he underlined in conversation with the Todo Noticias signal.

The advance continued on Tuesday with the publication in the Official Journal of DNU 939/24 which hit the Tapia administration hard. Just as I predicted Clarionthe Executive canceled decree 1212 which granted tax benefits to clubs and which had been reinstated by Sergio Massa during last year’s campaign. Now a commission made up of government representatives and footballers must look for a more “sustainable” alternative, according to the concept used. Federico Sturzenegger, Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation.

The same manager published a message in which he explains that the special social security scheme for football will end in six months and that for the redesign or renewal a “non-binding” opinion will be necessary which includes members of his portfolio, the Ministry of Daniele Scioli’s Sport, of the Deputy Chief of Staff, of the former AFIP, of the Ministry of Labour, Public Work and Social Security, of the National Administration of Social Security and Human Capital. They will be joined by the managers of the AFA and three football clubs, two from the First Division and one from Ascenso.

Sturzenegger explained the scope of 1212 in a large post published in the sources (tickets, season tickets and television broadcasts), with which these obligations are cancelled”, was his introduction.

“The problem is that the current rate is not sufficient to compensate for the contributions and, for this reason, between last November and April, The scheme generated a fiscal deficit of approximately $7 billion“he added.

“The Massa decree 510/23, as a campaign gift, had included the AFA as a beneficiary of the system, but at the same time required that the system be reviewed one year after its implementation to assess whether it had achieved economic equilibrium. Given the obvious deficit that the system has caused, it needs to be reviewed,” he concluded.

In objective terms, the compensation that the State assumed for this contribution from the clubs from November last year to April this year was equal to 7,091,928,560 dollars, as stated in the provision published in the Official Journal. In subjective terms, the same text indicates that the figure constituted “a loss in the general regime”.

Where do the numbers come from? Of the difference between what the clubs pay and what they would have to pay if they didn’t have the special regime. The AFA is withholding tax for 7.5% of the gross amount received from various incomes.

It applies to proceeds from the sale of match tickets and television rights of the National Team, the Professional League, the First National Team, the B, C, Federal A and women’s football clubs.

That is, for every 1,000 pesos, the AFA retains 75 dollars which it transfers to public coffers. Without the 1212 the bill will be different: for every 1,000 you would retain approximately just over $300. From this point of view, the Government understands that it has lost 7 billion. And given that Milei’s policy includes chainsaws in all sectors, football will be no exception, it’s clear.