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Fresh spray paint and graffiti welcomed the head of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) to work yesterday as fans vented their anger at the proposed suspension of the forthcoming season.

A fight over television rights by Argentina’s heavily indebted clubs has thrown the season’s opening games on August 14 into doubt.

“No games at any level will start,” Chequis Bialo, the AFA spokesperson, announced after the latest talks with television representatives collapsed.

Tension between Argentina’s top clubs and cable television providers has been brewing for weeks as the country’s top league teams try to extricate themselves from debts estimated at $300m (€208m, £177m).

In search of a solution, the AFA is furiously lobbying to squeeze more money from television rights. Julio Grondona, AFA president, is pushing for $720m per season, almost three times the current rate.

“The money that television gives us doesn’t suffice. Football doesn’t de-serve this amount. One and for all, we want figures that football deserves,” said Mr Grondona.

Under the current deal, Argentina’s top-flight football is accessible on a pay-for-view basis. The AFA, which has long complained that television rights are undervalued, is pushing to move games to open-view and have cable television rates increase accordingly.

“With an extra 12 pesos ($3.14, €2.18, £1.85) per monthly subscription, everything would be resolved,” says Mr Grondona.

But any increase is hugely unpopular with Argentina’s football-mad viewing public, who claim they already pay more than the international average to watch their favourite teams.

Nor is the television industry willing to bend. Scrapping pay-for-view would constitute an “arbitrary” move, a statement by the industry-led Pampeana Association of Cable TV maintains.

As an alternative, the television companies are offering a $40m upfront payment to assist clubs in meeting their immediate debts. The AFA rejected the proposal as a “plaster” over the real problem.

Information Source: FT.com

The kickoff to the Argentine domestic football season was put on hold indefinitely on Wednesday, while the game’s national governing body sought a solution to clubs’ massive debts.
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Bussed-in protesters also attacked the Argentina Football Association (AFA) headquarters, smashing windows and demanding the resignation of AFA president Julio Grondona.

“The executive committee of the AFA resolved unanimously tonight (Tuesday) that the championships in all categories should not start on the scheduled dates,” a statement from the AFA said.

The first division Apertura championship, which is played between August and December in the first half of the season, had been scheduled to kick off on Friday, August 14.

Argentine teams’ participation in the Copa Sudamericana, the continent’s equivalent of the Europa League which starts this week, would not be affected, nor would Diego Maradona’s national team who have a friendly against Russia in Moscow next week.

The statement said the AFA needed to search for a proper and well-founded solution to the problem of clubs’ debts.

Grondona, also world body FIFA’s senior vice-president, held talks with the government’s chief tax officer, Ricardo Echegaray, and Sergio Marchi, secretary general of the players’ union, Futbolistas Argentinos Agremiados (FAA) to try to resolve the debt issue.

While leaving the talks, Grondona said an increase in fees for television rights to matches would help ease clubs’ debts.

“For me the solution is for the AFA to receive more money from the revenue of the television (rights),” he said.

A few hours after the talks, Grondona was the target of a demonstration outside his offices.

The AFA headquarters in central Buenos Aires were attacked by about 100 people who arrived in two buses, threw stones at the building breaking windows, and shouted insults at Grondona.

They painted “Julio Grondona thief” on the wall and handed out leaflets saying “Grondona, liar and traitor … resign now” before police dispersed the demonstrators, who did not appear to have allegiance with any football club or organisation.

Some of Argentina’s biggest and most successful clubs are among the major debtors, including former South American champions River Plate, Racing Club and Independiente.

Sources close to the tax authorities say clubs owe the government 300m Argentine pesos (£46.37m), on top of debts to the AFA and, to a lesser extent, their own players.

On Monday, the AFA asked that the fee TV companies pay for match rights for this season be revised up to 720m pesos from the 268m pesos originally agreed.

Local media reported that the TV companies were considering a counter-proposal that included a contract extension with the AFA from the present 2014 expiry date to 2020 and advance payments to clubs to cover their current debts.

Marchi said some well-run clubs, notably newly-crowned South American champions Estudiantes and Argentine Clausura title winners Velez Sarsfield, were paying for mistakes made by directors of poorly run clubs.

“I hope the AFA follows it’s own rules and sanctions those (directors) who don’t meet their obligations,” Marchi said.

“The (Argentine) game is poorly commercialised, it’s obsolete … There are problems of infrastructure, the bathrooms of some clubs look like Kosovo,” he told reporters

Information Source: SoccerNet

Tras la reunión de ayer de Comité Ejecutivo todo parece seguir igual que hace una semana atrás.

El conflicto con las deudas de los clubes parece no tener final y la AFA está buscando lo más rápido posible una solución para poder arrancar con la temporada 2009/10.

Finalizado el encuentro se informó desde la sede de la asociación en la calle Viamonte: “Se decidió no comenzar los campeonatos de ninguna categoría” y a su vez también fueron claron en cuanto al pedido a la televisión: “La televisión puede ofrecer alguna colaboración para solucionar este problema. Queremos que se ofrezcan cifras de acuerdo a lo que da el fútbol. Tenemos que esperar, la situación no es fácil. Que los hinchas esperen con paciencia. Los dirigentes están luchando, los clubes no pueden vender a todos los jugadores. ¿Cómo no te va a doler? Pero todo lo que sea posible lo voy a defender a muerte. Queremos que nos den lo que nos corresponde”, explicó el titular de la AFA.

El día arrancó con una reunión entre Julio Grondona y los encargados de Torneos y Competencias, empresa que tiene los derechos de los partidos del fútbol argentino. Luego de ese encuentro, en el que no hubo acuerdo, hubo una sesión en la AFA en la que finalmente se anunció a través del jefe de prensa, Chequis Bialo: “Se resolvió, por unanimidad y aclamación, no comenzar los campeonatos de ninguna categoría”,

La decisión fue tomada en el Comité y por unanimidad se resolvió postergar de forma indefinida el arranque de las competencias domésticas.

“Le ofrecen al fútbol una solución de forma, y este comité ejecutivo busca una solución de fondo”, argumentó Cherquis.

“Fue una suspensión tomada de manera unánime. En tanto no esté la solución de fondo, el fútbol no seguirá. Emparchar como se ha hecho siempre no sirve. Hemos intentado hasta ahora buscar soluciones, pero parece que queda mucho por hacer”, argumentó Grondona al salir de la AFA, tras la reunión del comité ejecutivo.

Y luego concluyó: “¿Y qué se la va a decir (al hincha)?, que tenga esperanzas de que se va a encontar una solución, estamos trabajando en eso. Lo que se está pidiendo es para que los clubes no sigan vendiendo a sus figuras para poder salvarse”.

Lo cierto es que hasta el momento no hay solución a la vista y por lo pronto tampoco fútbol.

Fuente: Goal.com