"There's no coming back from this": Chiqui Tapia breaks the silence after Argentina's controversial final at the World Cup
The top figure in Argentine football called out those who spread the versions that emerged after the defeat against Spain.
30 days after Argentina lost 1-0 to Spain in the World Cup final, the president of the “Argentine Football Association" (AFA) described the accusations received by the players and coaching staff from the press as a "miserable campaign"
The harsh response from Chiqui Tapia
In a letter signed as "CT", Chiqui Tapia posted on his social media a text that focuses on the claims that cast doubt on the players' attitude during the match. According to him, there was an attempt to push the idea that the Argentina National Team "had thrown the game"
"El Chiqui" claims there was an “operation” surrounding what happened in that match. According to Tapia, those who spread those versions would be part of a web of conspiracy theories that emerged after Argentina’s defeat at MetLife Stadium in New York.
What stands out most is that, after a month, not one of them apologized. Not one came out to say: ‘We were wrong’ . Not one had the honesty, the dignity, or simply the balls to take responsibility,” he concluded.
Tapia asked those responsible for spreading the conspiracy versions to speak up and apologize, since silence is not enough:
“It’s not enough to stay silent. It’s not enough to wait for time to pass. It’s not enough to change the subject and act as if they had never said anything. And even if they now want to avoid people’s comments, complaints, or reproaches for all the lies they told, they will not be able to erase what they did. Because there are words that have consequences and accusations that leave marks”.
From calling the National Team players traitors, there is no coming back
One of the strongest phrases in the statement, I quote : “There’s no coming back from calling the National Team players traitors,” was the forceful phrase he chose. , he added.
“They demanded explanations when they didn’t have a single piece of evidence. They pointed fingers at players who were giving everything. They fed a lie and established it as the truth. Now you give the explanations. Because greatness is also in acknowledging a mistake”
The theory that ignited the controversy
The controversy arose after the final lost to Spain. The heavy defeat fueled speculation on social media, and some sectors began to question the players' attitude during the match, even suggesting that Argentina had deliberately allowed the result.
Tapia categorically rejected that interpretation. According to his position, the players left everything on the field, and the subsequent accounts were not only false, but also sought to create a negative image of a National Team that, up to the final, had put together a historic campaign.
While our players were giving everything on the field, some outside were doing exactly the opposite: sowing hatred, dividing, smearing, and trying to destroy the image of a National Team that had earned the respect of millions
The message also included a reflection on the values that those who made those accusations should convey.
“How do they go back home after having done all this? How do they look their children in the eyes and talk to them about honesty, respect, and dignity?”
"The defeat against Spain, therefore, reopened a discussion that seemed to be over. And this time it was the president of the AFA himself who decided to respond, issuing a forceful warning to those who continue to uphold those versions: “ There’s no coming back from this”.
