Khaberni - A tax evasion charge has been directed at Claudio Tapia, president of the Argentine Football Association, according to a court ruling published Monday. The judicial order also targets other officials within the World Champions' Federation.
These proceedings follow a criminal complaint filed by the Argentine tax agency, accusing the federation and its officials of failing to pay taxes and social contributions, causing financial damage estimated at 19 billion pesos (about 12.7 million dollars).
Alongside Tapia, four other officials of the federation have been charged, as well as the federation itself as a legal entity. The five officials appeared before the judge handling the case on March 12th.
The Argentine federation denies the accusations against it, asserting that the action is a "maneuver" led by Argentine President Javier Milei to pressure Argentine football.
The extremely liberal president demands the transformation of football clubs, currently classified as non-profit associations, into sports corporations.
These reforms encounter broad rejection from the clubs, and they contradict the constitution of the Argentine federation.
To express their opposition to the government project, the clubs staged a strike during the ninth round of matches in the top league that was scheduled earlier this month.
Since 2017, the Argentine federation has been under a separate investigation related to money laundering suspicions.
