BUENOS AIRES, Feb 23 : The executive committee that represents Argentina’s first division soccer teams has requested the suspension of several matches next month to protest a criminal investigation against the leaders of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), the association said in a statement on Monday.
The games had been set for the dates that Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, the association’s president, and other leaders have been cited to testify at a court hearing, according to local newspaper La Nacion.
Tapia and Pablo Toviggino, the AFA’s treasurer, are being investigated for withholding pension contributions and evading tax payments, La Nacion reported.
In its statement, the AFA said that its association “has no outstanding debts related to tax obligations.”
As the World Cup approaches, a series of criminal investigations have gripped the AFA. In early December, police raided the AFA headquarters and more than a dozen soccer clubs as part of a money-laundering probe that looked at transfers of money tied to clubs and a financial services company.
