AFA president, top officials indicted in Football for All rights probe

Argentinian Football Association president Luis Segura and three former presidential cabinet chiefs have been indicted in an investigation into the sale of the country’s domestic media rights.

Segura, as well as former President Cristina Kirchner’s cabinet heads Anibal Fernandez, Jorge Capitanich and Juan Abal Medina, and six former AFA directors, were named in the indictment.

Federal judge Maria Servini de Cubria is investigating suspected embezzlement in relation to the government’s Football for All scheme, which ensured free-to-air coverage of domestic football competitions. Kirchner spearheaded the introduction of the government’s scheme in 2009.

“According to the documents we have submitted to the judge, there is money that did not reach the clubs,” said Alberto Piotti, a former judge appointed by the court to audit the AFA.

He added that the investigation should proceed “before the case is referred to a court to establish the liability of those accused.”

President Mauricio Macri (pictured), who was elected late last year, has vowed to bring an end to the scheme in 2019.