The Argentinian government has suspended a sales process for national and international media rights.
The government took the decision after a judge last week ordered a lawyer and accountant to be installed at the Argentinian Football Association for three months to investigate allegations of irregularities relating to the management and distribution of rights income. The judge also ordered the postponement of the AFA presidential election, which was due to take place later this month.
Last month, the government launched a tender process for the 2017 season of the ‘Football for All’ scheme, which reserves domestic football coverage in Argentina for free-to-air television. The sales process was set to include national, international and internet rights for the top-tier Primera División, with the government inviting bids for domestic rights up to July 7 and international offers within a 40-day window.
However, Fernando De Andreis, the general secretary of the presidency and head of Football for All, said that there are not the “institutional conditions to go forward with the tender process.” He added: “The current bidding has been organised based on a tournament schedule that is today in doubt and which would be obsolete should there be modifications.”
De Andreis said that the government would continue to allow free-to-air coverage through to 2019.