Buenos Aires, March 30 (NA) – The president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia, was charged without preventive detention for the undue retention of contributions. Likewise, the prohibition to leave the country was ratified, which puts his presence at the upcoming World Cup, to be held in June in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, in doubt. As reported by the Argentine News Agency, the measure was signed by Judge Amarante, who ordered the prosecution without preventive detention of the accused Tapia, Pablo Toviggino, Cristián Malaspina, Victor Blanco, and Gustavo Lorenzo, considering that there are sufficient elements to prima facie link them to the investigated facts. Additionally, the magistrate ordered an embargo of 350 million pesos for the main implicated parties as part of the progress of the judicial proceeding, within the framework of a case that points to irregularities related to contributions and resources of the system. On top of that, Justice rejected the AFA president's request for a 60-day travel permit for work and ratified the prohibition of leaving the country for Tapia and Toviggino. In this context, and without his guaranteed presence at the upcoming World Cup due to his prohibition from leaving the country, Justice notified Tapia and other accused parties of 'the obligation not to be absent from their respective homes for a term longer than 72 hours without previously communicating said circumstance to the Tribunal'. For this reason, the president of the AFA will have to present a request to Justice for a permit that will allow him to be present at the friendly match that the Argentine National Team will face its counterpart from Zambia, on Tuesday at La Bombonera stadium.
