The national government intensified its institutional offensive on the leadership of Argentine football by formally ordering the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and the defunct Superliga — along with its successor, the Professional League — to provide detailed explanations about inconsistencies found in financial statements totaling over 450 million dollars. In this context, Vítolo pointed out that the Barracas Central club — of which the current president of the AFA was the head — owes the presentation of its balance sheets for a decade, although it has an open moratorium to regularize its situation. The government's offensive opens a new chapter in the dispute for control and transparency in Argentine football, a sector historically opaque in managing multi-million dollar funds. The measure was ordered through the General Inspection of Justice (IGJ) and warns that non-compliance could lead to severe economic sanctions for the entities and their directors. According to the Ministry of Justice, the observations affect more than 111 million dollars in the AFA's financial statements and about 340 million dollars corresponding to the Superliga and its institutional successor. The requirement forces the entities to respond to each of the observations, provide supporting documentation, and explain the destination of expenses and investments that, according to the IGJ, would not be contemplated within the social statutes. From the opposition, Buenos Aires legislator Graciela Ocaña backed the need for a watchdog in the AFA and denounced that for years its authorities have tried to evade controls under the argument of not being a state entity. Although she ruled out a full intervention of the AFA, she left the door open for specific supervision over the numbers of the governing body of Argentine football. The official advance occurs in a context of growing tension between the Government and the AFA leadership, traversed by parallel investigations that splash leaders from Tapia's circle, complaints for alleged tax evasion and money laundering, and public questions about the assets of high-ranking officials. With suspicious balance sheets and warnings of sanctions on the horizon, the AFA leadership faces one of the most serious institutional challenges in recent years. The government emphasized that the AFA has the legal status of a non-profit civil association, a condition that subjects it to the same controls and requirements as any other entity registered with the IGJ. In recent weeks, different state agencies have deepened requests for information and formal presentations, while political representatives have demanded greater transparency in the management of football resources. One of the central points of the conflict is the legal situation of the AFA before the IGJ. Among them, the possibility of appointing a watchdog or informant within the AFA is evaluated, with the objective of directly accessing the accounting and financial information that, according to the IGJ, the entity has repeatedly refused to transparent. Vítolo had already anticipated this possibility in recent public statements, pointing out that the balance sheets presented contain 'very diffuse figures' and that it is essential to accurately determine in what the funds were spent, within the framework of the control function that the State exercises over civil associations. In this sense, the Inspector General of Justice, Daniel Vítolo, stated that 'no one is above the law or has privileges' and stressed that the body will act 'without exceptions' in the face of possible defaults. The summons does not publicly specify the accounting periods involved, but sources from the Ministry of Justice indicated that some of the observations date back eight years. This continuity explains why the requisition reaches both the Superliga — created in 2017 and dissolved before the pandemic — and the Professional League, the body that currently organizes the First Division and is under the direct orbit of the AFA, chaired by Claudio Fabián Tapia. The continuity of people, positions and responsibilities is one of the points that the control body seeks to clarify. The Ministry of Justice warned that the lack of response within the established deadlines enables the application of significant fines and other measures provided for by current regulations. After its disappearance, the Professional League absorbed its functions, but maintained administrative structures and circuits that are now under the IGJ's microscope.
