Federico Beligoy, Chiqui Tapia's protégé who stands on both sides of the counter

When Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia took over as president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) in March 2017, he knew one of his first enemies would be Guillermo Marconi. A former referee turned union leader —and also a football columnist— he served as secretary general of the Argentine Sports Referees' Union (SADRA). Combative toward Julio Humberto Grondona's AFA, Tapia and his main sidekick, treasurer Pablo Toviggino, knew from the start that they had to find another interlocutor with the men in black with whistles. The question was who. The answer lay in the other referees' union and had a first and last name: Federico Beligoy. The top authority of the Argentine Referees' Association (AAA, the other referees' union) since 2013, he had been a FIFA international referee between 2008 and 2013 and officiated in the first division between 2004 and 2018. He was never appointed to a World Cup and his only superclásico was a friendly in Córdoba in October 2015. "Fede," as he is known, has always been more affable in his dealings with officials and even players. He had inherited his diplomacy from one of his first jobs: selling books for the Santillana publishing house. It took the AFA 16 months to build up the new refereeing interlocutor. In July 2018, Beligoy took over as the new National Director of Refereeing and became the top authority in the area. The supreme chief. The one who appoints them to matches and the one who defends them, for union reasons. And the one who calls them at halftime to point out their mistakes, as he once acknowledged in a television interview. Beligoy has thus spent eight years on both sides of the counter: director of the area at the AFA, secretary general of the main union —because the AAA swallowed up SADRA, just as the AFA always wanted. "It's an absolute disgrace, one they will never fix because they need it," an official close to Tapia tells LA NACION when asked. Most think like him and have a poor opinion of the top refereeing official. The dizzying rises of Julián Beligoy —alias "Beli," Federico's son— and Sebastián Martínez Beligoy —already an international, "Fede's" nephew— only raise more questions about the director's almost absolute power. Now, Beligoy has come into the spotlight not because of refereeing decisions but because of a multimillion-dollar real estate deal in which the origin of the money is being investigated. A while ago, the AFA appointed Fernando Rapallini as technical manager of the area, another former international referee with a better reputation than Beligoy. Some thought —or believed— it was a first step toward removing the now-historic director. The question everyone was asking was how the two would coexist. And whether Rapallini would have authority over the refereeing corps beyond reporting to Beligoy. Federico Beligoy, National Director of Refereeing, during the Referees' Media Day in EzeizaThe following months showed that the director was —is— untouchable. And that the new manager barely managed to do some cosmetic work: an X account to explain some refereeing decisions and little more. The scandals in the different categories of Argentine football remain commonplace. Not even the VAR "worth six out of ten" —which the clubs pay for— has managed to make transparent the decisions made on the pitch. Worse still, statistics on the technology's interventions show that some teams benefit more than others. Barracas Central —or Tapia FC— is one of them. "When Tapia sees he's in trouble or that officials are railing against refereeing decisions, he summons Beligoy to the AFA executive committee meetings. He puts him on display before the officials so they can ask him questions or challenge him. And most of the time, the executives... stay silent!" recounts someone who knows the ins and outs of the AFA by heart. In one of his most recent appearances, Beligoy showcased the virtues of semi-automated offside, which will debut in the Clausura tournament final. "Fede" has a couple of mantras he repeats to anyone willing to listen. He claims that Argentine refereeing "is among the best in the world." And he cites as proof that Argentine referees have been called up to work in Europe or the Middle East. He also says that Argentine refereeing "is credible." Although fans don't sing his name like they do Tapia's in every stadium in Argentine football, they stopped believing a word he says long ago. But there he remains, on both sides of the counter. By Alejandro Casar GonzálezType of work:News Original