World Cup 2026: FBI probes Argentine FA finances amid tournament chaos
The 2026 World Cup has hit a crisis point. Just as Argentina had booked a place in the quarter-finals in highly contentious fashion against Egypt, a fresh revelation from the United States has cast an even darker shadow over Argentine football. According to Fox Sports and La Nacion, FBI agents and federal prosecutors have launched a wide-ranging investigation into the financial operations of the Argentine Football Association, run by Claudio Tapia. The probe centres on several hundred million dollars tied to AFA commercial contracts, money that is said to have passed through the US banking system via Citibank, Synovus, Bank of America, JP Morgan and PNC Bank. The US Department of Justice is now trying to establish whether some of those transactions amount to financial crimes.
The timing could hardly be worse. Argentina are playing the World Cup on American soil and are already at the heart of a major refereeing row following their last-16 win over Egypt. Egypt coach Hossam Hassan accused the match of being fixed, the Egyptian federation lodged an official complaint against French referee Francois Letexier, and social media lit up almost instantly. All of this comes against a backdrop of rising tension around FIFA governance, the links between Gianni Infantino and several Argentine officials, and Donald Trump’s intervention to get Folarin Balogun’s red card overturned.
Several witnesses have already started giving evidence to US investigators. Among them is businessman Guillermo Tofoni, who was questioned by video link by prosecutors and FBI agents specialising in financial crime. The investigation is understood to focus in part on TourProdEnter LLC, a company that handled some of the AFA’s international contracts. It is said to have managed at least $260 million from the federation’s international business, with investigators particularly interested in several tens of millions of dollars whose final destination is not clearly accounted for in the banking records. Prosecutors are also said to be considering questioning former officials from Javier Milei’s government who may have access to sensitive information.
A separate legal battle, with innocence still presumed
In Argentina, the legal proceedings involving the AFA are now moving much more slowly, largely because of a number of appeals filed by those targeted in order to challenge the material handed over by the US authorities. One of the key issues is preventing the banking documents obtained in the United States from being used in Argentine criminal cases. Requests have also been submitted to move the files to other jurisdictions, a move that could delay the investigation for months.
It must be stressed that no guilt has been established at this stage and that the presumption of innocence remains in place for everyone involved. But the fact that the FBI is investigating during the World Cup, while the Argentine delegation is on US soil, has sent shockwaves through the sport. With the Albiceleste already at the centre of the noise, this financial scandal only adds to the mistrust building around the 2026 tournament as it heads into the business end.
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