The president of the Argentine Football Association, Claudio Tapia, was dismissed in the criminal case in which he was accused of fraud as a result of the tickets and the organization of the celebration matches of the Argentine National Team after winning the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The reason for the complaint
Federal prosecutor Eduardo Taiano launched a criminal action against the president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, for the criminal figure of fraud based on a complaint filed by businessman Guillermo Tofoni in relation to the organization rights of the friendly matches of the National Team.
Taiana’s accusation was known recently, although the ruling was issued on Tuesday, April 25, and two days later Judge Julián Ercolini accepted Tofoni as the complainant and summoned the AFA attorney, María Camino, to give an investigative statement.
Tofoni, owner of the World Eleven company, had denounced that after winning the World Cup Tapia celebrated “a strange contract with another company (by ProSport Live LLC) recently created and without experience in the field”to carry out the friendlies against Panama and Curaçao, despite the fact that since May 4, 2021, “an exclusive representation contract” was in force in his favor.
The accusation was investigated by federal court 10 and aims to determine if there was an alleged fraud regarding the “exclusive representation rights that World Eleven has regarding the rights of the Selection”, in what according to the complainant would imply the commission of the crime of ‘fraud by disruption’ (article 173 paragraph 11 of the Penal Code).
In his complaint, presented before the Federal Chamber with the sponsorship of lawyers Luciano Pauls and Francisco Castex, the owner of World Eleven pointed out that “the AFA granted certain rights (on the organization of friendly matches of the National Team) over perfectly stipulated and individualized and despite this, in the fullness of his exercise, he unilaterally violated the signed agreement”.
For Tofoni, that action constituted a “dispossession” of their rights for the benefit of “a third party”the company ProSport Live LLC, based in the US city of Miami, which in their opinion constitutes “the crime provided for in article 173, paragraph 11, of the Penal Code.”
“This disruption (of the contract) was maliciously carried out by Tapia, in a clear fraudulent maneuver that occurred after the world championship was held,” said the owner of World Eleven, which he presented as a “company founded in 1999 with license granted by Fifa for the organization of international friendly matches”.
After receiving the instruction request from Taiano, Ercolini summoned the AFA lawyer, María Cimino, to testify for Wednesday, May 10 at 10 at the courthouse, in Comodoro Py, and also issued an international warrant to the United States so that, in accordance with the mutual legal assistance treaty, “all information relating to the company ProSport Live LLC” be reported to the competent judicial authority.
Source: Ambito
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