Barros Schelotto shuts down Riquelme talk, keeps focus on Velez

The question lasted only a few seconds, but the answer landed like a fist on the table. Guillermo Barros Schelotto walked into the press conference room fresh off a Velez win over Estudiantes in the 2026 Clausura Tournament, and the moment someone brought up Juan Roman Riquelme's name, his expression changed instantly.

It all traces back to a chapter that remains open: Velez asked the AFA to overturn the Copa Argentina match against Boca, alleging an ineligible player took part. The issue lingered all week, and ahead of the Xeneize's draw against Gimnasia in Mendoza, Riquelme tried to cool things down with a classic locker room line, saying that games are won on the field.

That comment reached Guillermo the moment he sat down in front of the microphones, and that's when he snapped. "Did you see how Velez played in the first half? And you're asking me this, are you serious? What team in Argentine soccer plays like Velez played in the first half? And that's not what you highlight, you highlight something else," he fired back, visibly annoyed at having to discuss anything other than the match he had just coached.

The coach held nothing back and made clear he has no interest in playing along with the back and forth of public statements. "I don't know, I don't care what the others said. What matters to me is how Velez played today. If you want to talk about that, let's talk. If not, I'm leaving," he said, distancing himself from any controversy outside the game itself.

I have nothing to say about Wednesday's match. Velez already decided what to do. It's overGuillermo Barros Schelotto

A shutdown with no room for debate

Barros Schelotto was even more blunt in putting the subject to rest for good. "I don't care what they said about me, or about Velez, I'm not saying anything. The only thing that matters is talking about today's match," he concluded, making it clear his priority is soccer, not joining the back and forth with Boca.

The coach's stance stands in contrast to the exchange that has taken over the conversation since news broke of the Liniers club's formal request to the AFA. While the case works its way through the institutional process, Guillermo chose not to engage with the words of his former teammate at both Boca and Racing, keeping his focus solely on his team's performance, which, as he repeated several times, produced a first half worth highlighting against Estudiantes.

It remains to be seen whether the AFA rules on the protest in the coming days, but for now, the message out of Liniers is clear: as far as the coach is concerned, the Copa Argentina complaint is no longer up for discussion.