The coach of Deportivo Morón, Walter Otta, has received a 30-day suspension that will prevent him from performing his duties in the second leg of the Primera Nacional playoff for the second promotion to Primera División.
The penalty imposed by the Ethics Tribunal was due to false statements attributed to the head coach. In them, he referred to his next rival, Deportivo Madryn, as the "horses of commissars Claudio Tapia and Pablo Toviggino".
Despite the "Gallito" having released an extensive statement to "categorically and resolutely deny these types of nefarious operations," the tribunal decided to open a case against the coach, accusing him of "alleged violations of the duty of conduct, loyalty, and institutional neutrality".
The controversy arose in the lead-up to the second leg of the Primera Nacional playoff semi-final, where Morón and Deportivo Madryn will face each other, with the team from Buenos Aires Province having won the first leg 1-0.
With Deportivo Madryn once again at the center of the conflict, they had previously been awarded a 3-0 victory in the first leg of the quarter-final due to alleged threats to the referee when the match was 1-0 in favor of Gimnasia de Jujuy. Walter Otta was suspended for 30 days.
The penalty was issued as part of a series of false statements attributed to the 51-year-old coach. "What these two characters do in football is inevitable" was one of the direct quotes attributed to Otta, although the club classified the statements as false in a press release published three days ago.
On behalf of the club, the press release denied the mentioned words, stating that they "only tarnish the healthy and fair competition that the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has been promoting since the current management, headed by Claudio Tapia, took office".
Furthermore, the team from the western zone of Buenos Aires province highlighted the work of "Chiqui" Tapia and Toviggino, president and treasurer of the AFA respectively, valuing them for "working tirelessly every day for a more competitive football," emphasizing "transparency and honesty" and recognizing fake news as an attempt to "tarnish and call into question" the "professionalism demonstrated with the conquest of our third star in the World Cup".
In any case, the Ethics Tribunal did not take the press release into account and provisionally and preventively sanctioned Otta for 30 days, suspending him from performing his job and accessing the locker room and bench on match days, as well as opening a disciplinary file against him.
The second leg of the semi-final for the second promotion to Primera División will be played next Sunday, November 16th at 5:15 PM, at the Abel Sastre stadium in Puerto Madryn, with a 1-0 aggregate score in favor of the "Gallito".
The winner will face the victor between Estudiantes de Buenos Aires and their namesake from Río Cuarto, with the albinegro team leading 1-0 in that series, for a spot in the top tier of national football.
Official statement from Deportivo Morón After coach Walter Otta received a 30-day suspension that would sideline him from the second leg of the promotion playoff semi-finals, Deportivo Morón issued an official statement on social media regarding the situation. "In response to the communication received from the Ethics Tribunal of the Argentine Football Association, our legal team is currently collecting all evidence that clearly demonstrates the facts described do not correspond with reality in order to prepare the corresponding defense tonight," the statement from the 'Gallito', dissatisfied with a decision that adds another scandal to Argentine football, began.
In the same vein, the red and white institution asserts that "what is recounted does not correspond with what happened nor with the entire, noble, and respectful personality" of the 51-year-old coach, while also stating that they have "the evidence and a great body of legal professionals".
Finally, it emphasizes: "we will await the times of justice to determine each step to follow, trusting that this situation will have a quick and positive outcome."
