The wait makes the fans more excited than necessary. Columbus of Santa Fe, who clung to the decision of the Disciplinary Court of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), organ in which the Sabalero presented something like a protection to avoid relegation, which was consummated after the defeat in the tiebreaker match against La Plata Gymnastics.
However, since the submission of the letter the die was cast: the request was not successful and this will be confirmed by the AFA when it publishes the ruling with the refusal, which has already been signed. Colón is one of the teams that will make up the Primera Nacional in 2024although you have not yet received the formal communication.
This Thursday, in his first conference as the new president of Sabalero, Victor Godanotook it for granted, even without the published ruling, when he listed the state in which the club found itself and highlighted that in December “revenue by corporate mass fell.”
“We understand that it may be because in December there is no football or because the club was relegated“But if we want a big club, we have to support that commitment,” said President Godano at a press conference, distancing himself from the former president’s presentation. Jose Vignattimentor of the request to cancel the relegation.
The request made by the lawyer Ariel Reck On behalf of Colón, he focused the claim on the changes that the regulations underwent in the middle of the current season, a situation that he considered “inadmissible.” In an assembly in the middle of the year, one of the three planned relegations was eliminated and it was determined that the team with the worst average would lose the category (Arsenal) and the last one in the general table (in this case, Colón).
“The presentation was from the previous commission, so we have not followed that procedure. On Tuesday we have a meeting with (president Claudio) Tapia in AFA, but we do not know what the topic is, only that they are going to receive us because we are members of a new commission,” Godano said.
However, the first vice president, Marcelo Negrete, did not close the blind on the matter. “We spoke with Iván (Delfino, the new coach) about the idea of maintaining the base of the squad. But we also depend a lot on the decision of Colón in Primera or Colón in Nacional B (sic), that is fundamental to think about a team,” said the leader, who is still lighting a candle to a ruling that already has a signature and awaits its publication.
What does Columbus’ order say?
“A modification of the regulations with the competition already in progress and the teams logically hired based on a previous regulation cannot be validly admitted. This new system adopted once the season was already underway is openly illegitimate and violates the guarantees of legal and sporting equality,” reads one of Colón’s foundations.
The other axis of the presentation had to do with the body that decided on the modification: according to Reck’s writing, it was the Executive Committee that was appropriate and not the Assembly, as happened.
“A tiebreaker match played on the basis of a regulation altered in the middle of the competition without the approval of all the members of the Executive Committee cannot be admitted. The modifications of the June 2023 Assembly (…), should in any case govern for the 2024 season”, is distinguished in the paragraph that precedes the request for “annulment” of the relegation.
What will the Court’s ruling say?
However, the Court’s response was negative. The arguments that put an end to Sabalero’s request are based on the “extemporaneousness” of the request. For the Court to undertake a debate on the matter, Colón would have had to present the claim before his descent was consummated. “At least before the game against Gimnasia, not after,” explained a source from the organization.
“(Colón’s) request was accepted as a matter of social courtesy, let’s say, and to maintain a spirit that we do not reject anything in limine, because that would have left the club very exposed. We accept it, but it is impossible for the Court to say that this match is voidable. Impossible. There is no chance on our side, no chance. We are not here to cancel matches,” he confirmed two weeks ago to Clarion a member of the Court.
However, that certainty is not yet official. Why, if the Court was so clear about its position, did it not issue a ruling during the same week? Even the Professional League waited for its publication to disseminate its 2024 fixture. The answer to so much expectation is the bureaucratic order.
The delay in presenting Gimnasia’s defense and the busy schedule of the members of the Court – mostly judges in different jurisdictions – prevented the drafting of a ruling that was not debated.
“To substantiate it we need at least a couple of hours and Gimnasia’s release came at the last minute. The truth is that there was no time,” a member of the Disciplinary Court apologized for the delay.
Gimnasia’s participation was merely administrative. Because he had played the tiebreaker match, he was named by Colón in his letter and the Court had to listen to his position, although late. El Lobo did not provide any information that would force the collegiate body to review his position. El Sabalero was always alone in that crusade.
The publication that everyone expects is long-awaited, but its content will not surprise anyone. He desk of Columbus, did not prosper.