Years after River Plate’s controversial 2012 promotion too Argentina’s Primera División, allegations of match-fixing continue to surface. Former Instituto player Claudio fileppi has recently accused Ferro of deliberately losing their final match of teh season, alleging a coordinated effort that ultimately aided River’s ascent. The claims reignite debate surrounding the integrity of Argentine football and raise questions about the circumstances surrounding a pivotal moment in one of the nation’s most storied clubs’ history.
Claudio Fileppi, who played for Instituto at the time, recalls the stunning upset victory by Ferro in Alta Córdoba that paved the way for River Plate to secure first place and promotion to the Primera División.
Throughout its history, promotion battles have often been marked by controversy. Disputed calls that swing the balance, suspicions, and heated accusations are commonplace. Almost a decade and a half later, the Segunda División season that saw River Plate return to the top flight continues to be a talking point, and one of the key figures from that hard-fought competition has revisited the events.
Claudio Fileppi was playing for Instituto when River Plate found themselves battling in the second tier of Argentine soccer. Led by manager Darío Franco and a young Paulo Dybala, supported by Ezequiel Videla, Hernán Encina, and Diego Lagos, Instituto entered the final matchday in a direct promotion spot, trailing only Matías Almeyda’s side.
Hopes were soaring, as everything seemed set for a return to the Primera División: they held a one-point advantage over Quilmes and Rosario Central and were set to play Ferro, a team with nothing to play for, at home. However, it proved to be a forgettable afternoon in Alta Córdoba: “If we had won, we would have gone up, but we lost 3-0 at home. Incredible game.” He then dropped a bombshell: “Everyone paid Ferro off. They played their hearts out against us. We deserved to go up based on the season we had.”
Simultaneously, River Plate defeated Almirante Brown 2-0 with a controversial first goal by David Trezeguet due to Rogelio Funes Mori being in an offside position, while Rosario Central unexpectedly fell 3-2 to relegated Desamparados de San Juan, and Quilmes secured a dominant 2-0 victory over Brown de Puerto Madryn, snatching the second promotion spot.
“The way they played that day… We went into the match confident, thinking ‘this is it, today we go up.’ Because we had been strong at home in Córdoba. But incredibly, we lost 3-0 there, and then we went to the Promotion Playoff with San Lorenzo, but we were psychologically shattered. It was very difficult,” the former defender, a product of Racing, recalled.
Fileppi explained that Instituto had initially aimed to simply remain competitive in the league. “We actually assembled a squad to stay in the middle of the table. And then we found ourselves up there all year, fighting, and had a chance in the final match to go up against a team that I think was somewhere in the middle to bottom, Ferro wasn’t doing well. And we thought, ‘okay, that’s it.’”
Speaking with Bolavip, Fileppi revisited the issue of incentives and ignited controversy surrounding River Plate’s promotion: “The truth is, there was a lot of money from several clubs. The guys played their lives that day against Instituto, and they beat us.”
Beyond missing out on direct promotion, Instituto also stumbled weeks later in the decisive series against a Primera División club: “I was on the bench that day, I didn’t start, and from the outside we couldn’t believe what we were seeing, how those guys were running, and we weren’t. Incredible. I still can’t believe we didn’t win that match, which would have crowned everything we had done all year, it was the cherry on top. And then came San Lorenzo, even worse. Even though we were playing the Promotion Playoff, they had many high-quality players. And we were already mentally broken from losing that match. It was very, very difficult.”
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