The president of Estudiantes de La Plata, Juan Sebastián Verón, escalated his conflict with the AFA and its leaders, Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia and Pablo Toviggino, by accusing them of keeping the clubs in a 'status quo' that hinders growth. According to the Argentine News Agency, citing the extensive interview published by Clarín and signed by Daniel Avellaneda, Verón criticized the AFA's model as a 'dictatorial practice' that punishes dissent. The reference of Estudiantes attacked the core of the AFA's problem: the lack of professionalism and the financial dependence of the clubs. 'Instead of generating resources for the clubs to manage, what they do is maintain the status quo,' Verón stated. The former player directly linked the threat of sanction from the AFA (for the 'back pass corridor' to Rosario Central) with an intention of discipline: 'With us, Tapia acted like a dictator.' Verón insisted that Argentine football needs investment and 'clear rules' for its growth, opening the door to the insertion of private capital with supervision, so that clubs do not depend on the crumbs of the AFA. The Estudiantes executive lamented that Argentine football continues to talk about referees and controversies, instead of evolving and improving competitiveness, which is affected by the current format of 30 teams. 'Verón even warned about the possibility of sporting retaliation, noting that the lack of support for Estudiantes in the midst of the scandal is worrisome: 'I don't see it as something absurd that they want to send Estudiantes down. I see that it could happen.' They want to have the clubs captive by throwing them crumbs.'
