Chiqui Tapia was in a box seat at the controversial victory of Barracas: behind the scenes of the decisions against Newell's

Chiqui was in a box at Arsenal's stadium on Monday afternoon watching how his club, which is chaired by his son, Matías Tapia, was favored by the refereeing team, headed by Pablo Echavarría on the field and Hernán Mastrángelo in the VAR, in Barracas Central's victory over Newell's.

The referees did their homework for the crown. They did not award a clear penalty to Newell's for a handball by Barracas Central defender Yonatthan Rak, they did not send off Nicolás Demartini for an elbow on Luciano Herrera , they did not award the foul to Alejo Tabares at the start of the play that culminated in Barracas' second goal and they raised doubts about another possible penalty for the Rosario team due to a rough action by Demartini that, at the very least, the VAR should have called Echavarría to review.

The dispossession of Newell's and the biased refereeing of Barracas Central were visible to everyone. And in the red and black half of Rosario they exploded. Not only the leaders, who were just a few steps away from Tapia in the same box, but also well-known figures of the club such as Maximiliano Rodríguez and Ignacio Scocco, who expressed themselves on social networks.

"It's incredible that the penalty wasn't awarded!!! What a disaster the VAR has been. In some games they award it and in others they don't, there are various rules in the games," Rodríguez accused in an Instagram story.

"When the plays are for Newell's, the VAR doesn't work. When they are for the rival, it does and they are all clear," said La Fiera.

"Hahahahaha how embarrassing...my dear mommy. They are very exposed like that," Scocco lashed out on X.

According to Rosario sources, there is a hidden agenda behind this shameful refereeing by Echavarría. It points directly to the link between Tapia and the president of Newell's, Ignacio Astore, who defeated Tapia's candidate, Cristian D'Amico, when he won the elections.

Hahahahaha how embarrassing...my dear mommy. They are very exposed like that.

— Nacho Scocco (@NachoScocco32ok) February 24, 2025

D'Amico did have a close relationship with Tapia. In fact, he once made it clear on social media when, during a meeting between the two, months after Argentina won the World Cup, the former Newell's manager posted a photo with the president of AFA and a replica of the Cup.

"President, colleague and friend. When many put up obstacles, you continued forward and stood firm in your convictions. Thanks to that, you put together a comprehensive project for Argentine soccer and gave all of us one of the greatest joys in all of history. I'm sure you will continue to achieve more things because I know that you are 100% dedicated to that. Thank you for your friendship Chiqui Tapia. I will always be there for you, no matter where I am. Loyalty is not negotiable," D'Amico posted on his personal Instagram account.

But it didn't stop there. On D'Amico's Instagram account there are more posts of photos of him and Tapia, from various meetings they had, either with mates or with the Copa América that the National Team won last year in the United States.

At Newell's they believe that the current management was given the cold shoulder by the AFA and that this is reflected on the field of play. It is not only that they were harmed against Arsenal, but also in other matches of the Apertura 2025, in which the Rosario team is second to last in Zone A, with just 3 points. They won only one game and lost the other 6. The last one, against Barracas Central, the team in power and with its shameless "king", observing everything from a box.