Daniel Roque Vítolothe lawyer who took over as Inspector General of Justice in December 2023 under the government of Javier Milei, became a central figure in the State’s struggle with the Argentine Football Association (AFA). His departure from office, formalized today Friday March 6, 2026comes just after having promoted control measures over the economic structure of Argentine football.
Vítolo is a specialist in commercial and corporate law with a long academic career. He graduated as a lawyer from the University of Buenos Aires and decades later obtained his doctorate in Law from the National University of Córdoba. For more than twenty years it was Professor of Commercial Law at the UBA and consolidated itself as a reference on issues related to companies and business regulation.
His name also appears linked to relevant legal reforms. He participated as one of the jurists summoned to work in the new Civil and Commercial Code of the Nation sanctioned in 2014 and was part of the teams that intervened in the reform of the bankruptcy law. At the university level, he also directed the economic area linked to business within the UBA for more than a decade.
Appointed by the then Minister of Justice Mariano Cúneo LibaronaVítolo arrived at the General Inspection of Justice (IGJ) replacing Ricardo Nissen. From that place he focused on entities with great public visibility, among them the Argentine Football Association.
In recent months his management has advanced with observations on the AFA balance sheetssummonses for documentation that had not been presented for years and requests to designate observers who audit the economic structure of professional football. The analysis also reached the Super League, the civil association that managed close to USD 348 million in audiovisual rights between 2020 and 2024.
The most sensitive point came yesterday Thursday March 5on what would end up being his last effective day in office. That day he signed a second request for observers for 180 days to review accounting, economic decisions since 2017, television contracts and the institutional relationship between the AFA and the Professional League. The file also put under scrutiny the coexistence of different structures within football and the participation of leaders such as Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia and Pablo Tovigginoin addition to possible contradictions between the non-profit nature of the entities and the distribution of million-dollar income.
Today Friday March 6Vítolo presented his formal resignation to President Milei after a request from the new Minister of Justice, Juan Bautista Mahiqueswho had taken office yesterday and began to promote changes in key organizations in the area. In his letter, the lawyer expressed pride in his management, although he regretted not having been able to complete investigations in “areas considered untouchable”a phrase that was interpreted as a reference to the power of football.
His departure raises questions about the fate of the audits he had promoted. The issue now falls under the orbit of Mahiques himself, in a context crossed by political suspicions: Carlos Mahiquesfather of the minister and chambermaid of Cassation, recently celebrated his birthday at the Toviggino villa in Pilar.
The designated replacement at the head of the IGJ is Alejandro H. Ramirez.
With a technical and academic profile rather than a political one, Vítolo ended up becoming an unexpected actor in a larger dispute: the State’s attempt to supervise the economic framework of Argentine football. His departure, just as reviews of millions of dollars in contracts and balance sheets were advancing, leaves open questions about how far this control process will go.
Image gallery
