Just months before the World Cup, Argentina’s football has been rocked by a major financial controversy following claims made by former national team star Carlos Tevez. In a social media post from March 2024, Tevez hinted that something suspicious was unfolding in Pilar, a quiet area on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.
Tevez alleged that the Argentine Football Association (AFA) treasurer had been visiting the area frequently and suggested that bags of cash were being hidden underground, alongside a growing collection of luxury and vintage vehicles.
Political Party Files Charges After Shocking Discoveries
Following the tweet, opposition party Coalición Cívica launched its own inquiry and later filed criminal charges linked to a mysterious villa in Pilar. With the World Cup approaching, the property has become central to allegations of money laundering tied to senior AFA officials.
In early December, Argentine police raided the AFA headquarters and more than a dozen football clubs as part of an investigation into suspected illegal financial flows involving a financial services firm.
Just days later, authorities searched the Pilar property and uncovered a heliport, stables, swimming facilities, and 54 vehicles, including high-end luxury cars.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆-𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏,” 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊ó𝒏 𝑪í𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒂 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔.
The party alleges that the villa is connected to AFA president Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia and treasurer Pablo Toviggino, despite being officially registered under a third party.
AFA Denies Allegations, Blames Political Pressure
The AFA declined to comment directly on the allegations or grant interviews with Tapia or Toviggino. However, the federation issued a statement claiming it is being targeted by President Javier Milei’s government, which has pushed to privatize Argentina’s traditionally member-run football clubs.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝑭𝑨 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒂’𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒏-𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 2022 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒉, 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑻𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 2017.
Meanwhile, Argentina tax authorities have accused a prosecutor of illegally holding $13 million linked to senior AFA figures — adding further fuel to the growing scandal.
Sports journalist Néstor Centra summed up the crisis bluntly:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝑨𝑭𝑨𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘 — 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆.”
World Cup Participation Unlikely to Be Affected
Despite the mounting legal pressure, experts believe the scandal will not impact Argentina’s place at the World Cup.
“𝑵𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑩𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒔 𝑨𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔-𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒘𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝑨𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓. “𝑬𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑.”
While financial controversies have long shadowed global football — including previous scandals involving FIFA — the timing of this case has raised eyebrows among fans already frustrated by governance issues within Argentine football.
As investigations continue, Argentina’s performances on the pitch remain elite — but off it, the federation faces its most serious crisis in years.
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