Argentine FA President Claudio Tapia said that national team players "will end the
media boycott that has been in place since November," according to Adriana Garcia of ESPN.com. Lionel Messi announced following a post-match news conference last year that he and the rest of his Argentina teammates "would no longer speak to the press" while on int'l duty as a protest against "perceived media mistreatment." Tapia, who is "hoping to bring a new direction to the AFA since being elected as president on March 29," said during the unveiling of the new Superliga, "The players will speak." However, he did not say when they "will break their silence." Tapia added, "The players want to be close to the people but were mistreated at the time and they did not deserve it. In this new chapter of Argentine football, they are going to be important and the national team has to get close to the people and vice-versa. The national team is a priority for the AFA" (
ESPN.com, 8/16). In Buenos Aires, Daniel Avellaneda reported Tapia closed his speech at the launch of the Superliga by saying, "Let's hope we have the football we deserve." In response to questions about avoiding "the issues that have plagued the AFA in recent years," Tapia said, "It has to go well, it has to go well." River Plate President Rodolfo D'Onofrio said, "We have a historic opportunity" (
CLARÍN, 8/16). The launch of the Superliga, where the new logo was unveiled, was attended by a number of execs from first division clubs and broadcasters TNT Sports Latin America and Fox Sports Latin America (
Tyler Everett, SBD Global).
