The president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Claudio Tapia, expressed on Thursday his rejection of the possibility that the Finalissima will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu and said: “Spain wants the Finalissima to be played in Spain and I want it to be played at the Monumental“.
Tapia referred to the possibility of playing the match in Buenos Aires after Real Madrid’s stadium emerged as a new option to host the clash between Spain and Argentina, as the last winners of the European Championship and the Copa America, respectively, on March 27, after doubts raised by the war in the Middle East for the match to be held at its original venue, the Lusail Stadium in Qatar.
The AFA president made these statements to the media after appearing before the Argentine courts in a case in which the organization is being investigated for the crime of illegal retention of pension contributions and other taxes.
“We complied with what the judge wanted, so we were summoned, and we are going to get to work because Spain wants the Finalissima to be played in Spain and I want it to be played at the Monumental,” he said as he left the courts.Real Madrid has shown its absolute willingness to host the match, according to club sources, after questions arose about the match following the start of the current conflict in the Middle East.
Since the start of the attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran on February 28, and Tehran’s response with bombings against neighboring countries, including Qatar, the match has been up in the air, pending whether it could be played at the planned venue or at a different venue accepted by Conmebol and UEFA and both teams.
Shortly after the start of the war, the Qatar Football Association (QFA) announced the postponement of all its tournaments and competitions due to the instability in the area until further notice, but without mentioning the match between Spain and Argentina.
Last Monday, Rafael Louzan, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, reported that the decision on the dispute of the Finalissima should be taken in the next 48 hours
“We are waiting for a decision to be made in the next 48 hours. It’s going to be very quick because time is running out, for us those two games are very important in the preparation for the World Cup. In a very short period of time we will notify you of a response. We are all involved to find the definitive solution,” he said.
In addition, he showed his solidarity with the affected countries: “We must show our solidarity with the countries, we have a very direct relationship with them. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and others. Imagine what problems they are suffering 24 hours a day. We have been working since the previous Saturday, when this situation began, monitoring with different teams to follow step by step this situation“
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