the Ava He wanted to be punished and he did. Only the rarefied climate she had created for herself in Argentine football prevented her from fully accelerating the pace. The now famous “back kick”. La Plata students Designed by its president, Juan Sebastian Veronwhich was carried out by his players in Rosario, could have resulted in a fine. The Disciplinary Court went further and punished the players with two deadlines – to be met in 2026, and only if they remain at the club – and the president, in addition to imposing a fine of $120 million.
First reading you might think so Exaggerated measurement According to the protocol published on the AFC website minutes after Pablo Duvalo, the referee of the match in Arroito, announced the end. However, a more thorough analysis of the document and everything that happened behind the scenes leads to one word: hideous. And to feel: The Asian Football Confederation fell into disaster.
Going deeper meant harsh condemnation. Especially when the court ruling speaks of “a serious violation of ethical standards and respect, with significant media exposure and possible copycat effects.” Despite this argument, and the “incitement to violence” character of the players’ protest, the Argentine Football Association decided that they could implement the punishment next season. If they move to another club in the transfer market, they are exempt from the penalty.
The absurdity emerges because it is the court’s custom to pardon punishments after the end of the year. In other words: It is likely that the Estudiantes players file will be released from sanctions next January For the year 2026. Therefore, the accusation does not correspond to the punishment that was set for the negligent players. The AFC’s interpretation is that the penalty is not enforceable in a lockout “So as not to affect the integrity of the current tournament.”.
Juan Prats, former vice president of Estudiantes, could not explain the discrepancy better: “So that it does not affect the integrity of the current tournament? Seriously? But if it is a serious violation, it should be applied now, right? Unless you yourselves are ashamed of the ruling you made and think it washes your faces a little. Unrepresentable,” the former manager criticized on his X account.
In another context, the Argentine Football Association would have punished Estudiantes as harshly as possible.. It is still the Veyron team… the only opponent to the Tapia management. He remains a manager praised by President Javier Miley. He remains – according to those who frequent the halls of the Ezeiza Hotel – “one of the standard-bearers of Argentina’s sports joint-stock companies.”
In the hours before the court deliberations, part of the Tapia Football Agreement I wanted to go “with everything” Against those with intellectual and material “reaction.” Why didn’t they do that? For him Social humor. The strange and even gray nature of the ruling was explained because the AFC took note of how rare the climate is in Home of football. On Wednesday, an operation took place on the networks to defend the Tapia administration, which they did not hesitate to call a “destabilization operation.” The posts were full of negative comments. The football fan, and club member who supports the activities, has had enough. and At AFA they started to notice this. “Somehow they have to stop. Punishing Estudiantes players and not playing for Central Cordoba would be very dangerous for them,” predicted a management source when asked by Nation. He was right.
The disciplinary court’s decision was issued Many curiosities that add to the general confusion. On the one hand, members of that body talk about setting “a deterrent precedent against this type of situation (because of the support).” Strangely enough, the AFC did not even warn the other teams when they did not make room for the new champions. Not even a trivial handshake. It was so – to name a few; There’s more – from Central Cordoba in Santiago del Estero, which visited Independiente Rivadavia in Mendoza on November 10. La Libera achieved the title of champion of the Argentine Cup for the first time, but of course there was no passage or penalty. At the other end, Tigre paid tribute to Lanus at Garnet Castle after the international title. But the AFC’s protocol, for the now-famous bulletin with the date change… only talks about lanes for the national champions.
There is more. The disciplinary court’s justification for the accused “Incitement to violence” The Estudiantes players appear to be taken from a fantasy book. The disciplinary body considers this act reckless. He emphasizes that “even when no obvious physical incidents or hostile reactions were verified in the stands, the gesture analyzed implied that A form of symbolic violence and insult to the values of respect and sportsmanship protected by disciplinary law.”
And this Justified in boys and girls Who enter the field together with the players. “This becomes particularly clear – the court confirms – in the case of the boys and girls who accompanied the exit to the field, holding the hands of the Estudiantes de la Plata players: when they turned and released their hands to execute the gesture with their backs turned, They were left momentarily alone and unsupervised In the context of maximum exposure, it conveys a message that is at odds with the ideal role that professional footballers should play towards children and the football community as a whole. This circumstance reinforces the reprehensible nature of the act Incompatibility with the principles of fair play, loyalty and respect Yes, the same AFC that punished Deportivo Morón’s coach – Walter Ota – for something he did not say, speaks in one of its court rulings about “fair play, loyalty and respect”.
The ‘backhand’ ruling leaves Veron’s injury card on duty. If Estudiantes loses in Santiago del Estero to Central Cordoba and the refereeing is controversial, La Brujeta will remember that the Argentine Football Association punished him for not passing. Moreover, it places the president as an analyst in a position that would have been unimaginable even a few months ago. His personality was linked at the time to the failure of his alliance with Foster Gillette, the American billionaire who intended to invest in Argentine football. now, Veron has many followers.
The disciplinary court’s ruling is a little harsher than Estudiantes expected. The club saw the punishment against Veron – who incriminated himself in the defense – and a fine coming, however No one thought that the AFC would dare to impose sports sanctions. There was even a member of the court, when asked Nationshown Permanent resignation from his position if the football penalty situation prevails. Although it is harmless in the short term, it is included in the ruling. It will then be necessary to know whether the court will remain as it is or whether someone will leave.