Argentinian FA election ends in farcical draw

The Argentinian Football Association (AFA) had to postpone their presidential election after the initial result revealed an extra vote had been cast.

Luis Segura and rival Marcelo Tinelli were due to find out who would take over the role on a permanent basis following the death of former president Julio Grondona last year.

However, the assembly was told the final result was a 38-38 tie – an impossible outcome considering there were only 75 members eligible to vote.

Segura has been in charge on an interim basis since Grondona passed away at the age of 82.

He declared a willingness to work alongside Tinelli, who is the vice-president of club side San Lorenzo, if the pair could find common ground.

“We will call a new election if it has to be done [but] we will try to follow a path that maybe this error was a message for all of us to analyse forming one common ticket,” he said.

“If that doesn’t work we’ll call [another] election. This is disconcerting and even embarrassing.”

The AFA was holding their first democratic election in 36 years, with Grandona – a former senior vice-president at FIFA – having previously held the post of president since 1979.