Buenos Aires, November 24 (NA) – The Argentine Football Association (AFA) falsified a document to sanction Estudiantes de La Plata for turning their backs on the Rosario Central players during a walkway. The walkway was organized to present the league champion title, which the AFA invented overnight last Thursday. The AFA relies on Bulletin No. 6625, dated February 12, 2025, to justify the sanctions. However, when checking the PDF file's details, it is discovered that it was created on November 23 at 19:21, right during the match between 'Pincha' and Rosario Central, according to the Argentine News Agency. The document details that the visiting team's players should walk through the central corridor, passing between the two rows of opposing players, while those forming the walkway must remain in place, making no movements that disrupt the protocol. It is emphasized that any breach of this provision will be noted in the match report and will lead to the application of sanctions according to the AFA's Disciplinary Code. The controversy arose after the AFA invented the league champion title overnight to reward Rosario Central for having the most points in the annual table. On social media, Estudiantes was one of the few clubs to express its disagreement with this invented title, yet the AFA forced them to form the walkway. The La Plata club agreed to this provocative request, which included a threat from AFA's treasurer, Pablo Toviggino, to its president, Juan Sebastián Verón. Nevertheless, the 'Pincha' players turned their backs on their 'Canalla' colleagues as they came onto the field before the Clausura Tournament playoff eighth-final match. After the match, in which Estudiantes won 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals, referee Pablo Dóvalo reported that he would elevate the report to the Disciplinary Tribunal due to the back-turning incident.
