Pablo Toviggino, the treasurer of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), appeared in court on Wednesday to testify in a case investigating alleged tax evasion.
His appearance came one day before AFA President Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia is scheduled to appear before the judge on Thursday.
Tapia, Toviggino and two other AFA officials are under investigation to determine whether the association improperly withheld and failed to deposit money corresponding to taxes and pension contributions between 2024 and 2025, for an amount close to 19 billion pesos (around US$13 million).
Toviggino is also accused of evading income tax between March and December 2024.
Before attending the hearing, Toviggino posted a message on social media quoting a text attributed to the late Pope Francis.
“Living is about trying. And whoever tries inevitably stumbles. We fall when we fail, when we make mistakes, when we trust those we shouldn’t, or when our own decisions do not bear the expected fruit. But the fall does not define our story; what truly defines it is the decision we make afterwards,” he wrote on X.
Accused of alleged large-scale tax evasion, Toviggino submitted a written statement to economic crimes judge Diego Amarante and declined to answer questions.
AFA describes the judicial case as part of an alleged campaign of persecution by the President Javier Milei’s government, which wants to allow the privatisation of the ownership of the nation’s clubs.
Milei has pushed for football clubs to convert from non-profit entities into sports corporations – a model rejected by most teams.
Earlier this month, in solidarity with Tapia and the other officials under investigation, clubs suspended an entire round of top flight fixtures.
Following the summons, AFA said in a statement that it “has no enforceable debt regarding the tax obligations used as the basis of the complaint” filed by ARCA tax collection agency that initiated the case.
At a hearing scheduled for next Wednesday, the Economic Criminal Appeals Chamber must rule on a request by the accused regarding the alleged absence of a crime.
Tapia and the other officials under investigation are currently subject to a travel ban, unless expressly authorised by the courts.
Separately, AFA – led by Tapia since 2017 – is also under investigation for possible money-laundering. AFA headquarters were searched in connection with the probe last December.
Karina Milei speaks
Speaking outside the courthouse, lawyer Gregorio Dalbón – who is representing AFA – said the case was politically motivated and claimed the dispute would ultimately be resolved with Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei.
Dalbón alleged that the legal action against Toviggino and Tapia reflected what he described as a desire by top presidential adviser Santiago Caputo to “take over” Argentine football’s governing body.
Karina Milei later responded on Wednesday to Dalbón, saying that if officials at the association are guilty, they “will have to pay with the full weight of the law.”
“You have nothing to settle with me. You are in the hands of the courts,” the official wrote on social media.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
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