AFA Maintains Strike and Postpones Apertura Matchday 9

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has decided to maintain the strike and confirmed that Matchday 9 of the Apertura Tournament will be played on the weekend of May 3. At midday, the main AFA executives met at the Ezeiza training ground to define the next steps and decided there will be no football this weekend. "Matchday 9 of the 2026 Apertura Tournament will be played on the weekend of May 3. It has been established that the round of 16 will be played on the weekend of Sunday, May 10, the quarter-finals on a weekday (Wednesday, May 13), the semi-finals on the weekend of Sunday, May 17, and the final on Sunday, May 24," the Professional Football League detailed later on its social networks after a meeting attended by the presidents of the First Division teams. AFA has already notified the club presidents of the three possible alternatives to recover Matchday 9: the options are March 18, April 22, or May 13. Each institution must manifest its preference to advance in the definition of the new schedule. The 30 representatives of the Professional League clubs met this afternoon to decide whether or not to lift the strike scheduled for Matchday 9 of the 2026 Apertura Tournament. This decision was taken at the initiative of President Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia due to the fact that the Justice system has summoned him to testify in a case for alleged tax irregularities. From the Argentine football's governing body, they emphasized that there is no enforceable debt and that the questioned payments were made voluntarily before their respective due dates. They also clarified that this argument has already been presented to the Justice system and is currently awaiting a resolution from the Court of Appeals. They also accused ARCA of trying to transform non-due obligations into the basis of a supposed tax crime. To testify The Economic Crimes Court judge, Diego Amarante, decided on February 19 to summon Tapia, Treasurer Pablo Toviggino, and other executives in a case investigating the alleged misappropriation of tax withholdings. He had also prohibited both from leaving the country four months before the World Cup in the United States, although he later granted Tapia the corresponding permit. The case investigates the alleged misappropriation of more than $19,353 million corresponding to tax withholdings and social security contributions between March 2024 and September 2025. Tapia must appear on Thursday, March 5, and Toviggino on Friday, March 6. The tax authority ARCA, ex-AFIP, had requested Amarante to summon these AFA executives due to the case they both carry for alleged irregularities in that institution.