Buenos Aires, December 16, 2025 - Total News Agency - TNA - The Argentine Football Association (AFA) responded with an extensive and forceful communiqué to the complaint filed by Security Minister Patricia Bullrich before the Conmebol Ethics Tribunal, and staunchly defended the management of Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia at the helm of the entity.
In the text published on its official website, the AFA stated that the current leadership received in 2017 'a headless, underfunded, and discredited institution,' with accumulated debts, unfulfilled commitments to the clubs, and a strong dependence on state resources. In a final message charged with irony and confrontation, the statement noted that while some 'criticize from the outside,' the leadership continues to work for the growth of Argentine football, and linked the escalation of the conflict to the country's social and economic context, mentioning job losses and business closures.
The AFA's tough stance exposes a dispute that goes beyond sports and is part of a power struggle between the Government and one of the country's most influential institutions. It also emphasized the promotion of women's football, with the professionalization of the First Division and the construction of a new specific venue for women's national teams.
On the political front, the AFA denounced having been the target of pressure and attacks during the last three national governments. With Bullrich's complaint already in the hands of Conmebol and judicial cases still ongoing, the confrontation promises new chapters, with an impact on both politics and Argentine football.
In this context, it questioned Bullrich's recent complaint to Conmebol, which requests a preliminary investigation into alleged irregularities in the management of Argentine football, in a context where there are open judicial cases for alleged money laundering and tax evasion.
The AFA stated that since 2017, the leadership has chosen 'to prioritize football over partisan political issues' and rejected the use of the National Team's sporting achievements for electoral purposes. It also explicitly rejected the promotion of Sports Public Limited Companies, stating that clubs must retain the freedom to choose the model of non-profit civil associations.
Another central axis of the statement was the judicial defense of Tapia and the AFA's treasurer. The AFA recalled the threats of intervention and judicial complaints during the presidency of Mauricio Macri, the attempts at interference in the entity's internal life during Alberto Fernández's government, and currently, what it described as a 'coordinated attack' from the Javier Milei administration, mentioning Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona, Deputy Juliana Santillán, and Senator Patricia Bullrich.
The statement specifically targeted the Executive Branch's attempts to advance against the AFA through the General Inspection of Justice to halt the Assembly and question the internal electoral process. The entity affirmed that both were investigated and acquitted in all cases against them, which it described as part of political persecution.
In this sense, it noted that at the 'Lionel Andrés Messi' training ground, 24 male and female athletes from various disciplines train, with around 1,000 people circulating daily through the facilities and about 400 athletes using the dining rooms. According to the entity, the institutional collapse following the death of Julio Grondona and the memorable '38 to 38' episode in the 2015 elections left the organization on the verge of international sanctions, forcing FIFA's intervention through a Normalizing Committee in 2016.
From this base, the leadership headed by Tapia stated that it began a process of economic ordering and institutional recovery that allowed it to reverse the critical scenario. In one of the most emphatic passages of the communiqué, the AFA assured that it is now a surplus-generating body that does not receive 'a single peso from the State,' emphasizing that inherited salary debts were settled and an administrative structure was consolidated that currently employs around 1,300 people, with a monthly payroll close to 4 billion pesos. The entity also highlighted the comprehensive development of the national teams and sports venues. According to the entity, when these actions did not prosper, the threats of intervention reappeared.
