Argentina’s Football Association (AFA) has said that reports claiming its president, Claudio Tapia, and treasurer, Pablo Toviggino, were ordered by US courts to testify were false. The association rejected the reports, saying they did not accurately describe the situation. The remarks came on Wednesday (July 22).
However, the AFA admitted that another person had been summoned to appear before a US grand jury, reported Reuters.
Grand jury summons
According to the association, this individual could provide evidence involving several people, including AFA officials. However, it did not reveal the person’s identity or explain how they were connected to the case.
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The reports came after local media claimed that FBI agents stopped Tapia and Toviggino at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport on Monday (July 20).
Claims of airport questioning
The officials were reportedly questioned before boarding a charter flight carrying Argentina’s national football team after the World Cup final. Some media outlets also claimed that US authorities had taken Tapia’s electronic devices during the incident.
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Infobae also reported that US authorities were investigating commercial contracts linked to the AFA, valued at more than USD 300 million. The report suggested that the investigation was part of wider concerns about the finances of Argentine football following raids conducted in December during a money-laundering investigation.
Probe into contracts
The Reuters report further stated that a person who witnessed the events at the airport said that federal agents questioned Tapia and Toviggino for about 30 minutes while they were on a bus parked near the aircraft before departure. The FBI has declined to comment on the matter.
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The AFA continued to insist that neither Tapia nor Toviggino had personally been summoned by U.S. authorities or faced any legal action.
“It is absolutely false to claim that Claudio Tapia or Pablo Toviggino have been summoned to testify by the United States justice system. It is also false to claim that their cell phones or any other electronic devices have been seized,” the association said in a statement.
AFA denies allegations
“The document in question does not impose any personal measure on the President of the AFA or its Treasurer, does not order their appearance, does not impose any procedural obligation on them, and does not record any seizure or confiscation of property belonging to them,” it added.
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