Teh Argentinian Football Association (AFA) is embroiled in controversy following accusations of manipulating a key document to justify potential sanctions against Estudiantes de La Plata, stemming from their protest of Rosario Central’s recent championship win. The dispute centers on whether estudiantes violated protocol during a traditional “guard of honor” for the newly crowned champions, and whether the AFA backdated an official bulletin to support disciplinary action. Dubbed “PDF Gate” on social media, the allegations involve discrepancies in the document’s creation date and software version, raising serious questions about the AFA’s transparency and integrity.
The Argentinian Football Association (AFA) is facing accusations of falsifying a document related to sanctions against Estudiantes de La Plata, following their controversial reaction to Rosario Central’s championship celebration.
Rosario Central were unexpectedly crowned League Champions on Thursday, a title awarded based on accumulated points throughout the annual league table.
The AFA is citing Bulletin No. 6625, dated February 12, 2025, as justification for potential sanctions against Estudiantes. However, according to Perfil, metadata reveals the PDF was actually created on November 23 at 7:21 PM – during the match between Estudiantes and Rosario Central.
The alleged manipulation quickly went viral on social media, with users dubbing it “PDF Gate.”
The document details the proper protocol for a “guard of honor,” stating that “players from the honored club will walk through the corridor formed by the opposing players, in an orderly fashion.” It further stipulates that “players forming the guard of honor must remain in position, facing the players walking through, without making any movements or actions that disrupt the normal development of the protocol, which must be carried out with respect and decorum.”
“Any failure to comply with the provisions of this regulation will be noted in the referee’s report or official match documents and may result in sanctions as provided for in the AFA Disciplinary Code and other applicable regulations,” the document concludes.
Adding to the controversy, the PDF was created using version 25.1.201 of the Adobe PDF library, which was only released in September of this year.
After the allegations surfaced, the AFA modified the PDF’s metadata to show a February 12 edit date and republished it. However, the web server still recorded the second, altered version as being modified on Monday, November 24 at 8:09 PM.
¡ESTUDIANTES LE HIZO EL PASILLO DE CAMPEÓN A ROSARIO CENTRAL DE ESPALDAS!
📺 ESPN Premium | Suscribite al Pack Fútbol en https://t.co/7jYILYACXi pic.twitter.com/tma1fgofk7
— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) November 23, 2025
AFA Denies “PDF Gate” Allegations
The AFA released a statement on Monday responding to the accusations of document falsification.
In its defense, the organization, led by Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia, dismissed the claims, stating that “Official Bulletins of the Argentinian Football Association have correlative numbers” and cannot be altered.
The controversy began after the AFA unexpectedly awarded the League Championship title to Rosario Central based on their performance in the annual standings.
Estudiantes de La Plata were the only club to publicly express their disagreement with the sudden title announcement, and the AFA subsequently ordered them to perform a guard of honor.
The club from La Plata reluctantly agreed, but faced a threat from AFA treasurer Pablo Toviggino to their president, Juan Sebastián Verón.
However, Estudiantes’ players shocked onlookers by turning their backs to Rosario Central’s players as they entered the field ahead of their Clausura Tournament Playoff Round of 16 match.
Estudiantes went on to win the match 1-0, securing a spot in the quarterfinals, and referee Pablo Dóvalo subsequently informed the Disciplinary Tribunal of the incident during the guard of honor.
💣💣 ESCÁNDALO ABSOLUTO DE LA AFA 💣💣
👀 Tras la acción de #EDLP ayer en Rosario, la AFA publicó hoy en su web un PDF con una resolución (imagen 1) fechada en febrero 2025, supuestamente.
🚨 En lo que es un BOCHORNO total, el PDF con la resolución fue CREADO en el día de AYER,… pic.twitter.com/sITl3rL6Nr
— Fede Umana (@fmumana95) November 24, 2025
