CHILE · FOOTBALL
Key Facts
- The country Chile is a South American country whose professional football runs in three tiers under one body, the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (ANFP). Promotion and relegation are settled on the pitch unless the ANFP’s own courts step in.
- Why it matters The rules show how a second-division club can lose its league membership over paperwork filed with the league’s own financial control unit. There is no direct US link, but the case matters to readers who follow Chilean football or club governance in Latin America.
- Why now On Tuesday 27 October the ANFP disciplinary tribunal voted 6-1 to disaffiliate the Primera B club San Marcos de Arica. The league’s final round is scheduled from Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November.
- What happened The tribunal’s first chamber imposed disaffiliation on San Marcos de Arica and rejected a separate complaint against Deportes Puerto Montt the same day. The written sentence is still to come, so the appeal clock has not started.
- What it means for you Nothing changes for US travellers or investors. For fans, the rules decide how the final table is read and which clubs go up or down.
- Still open Which rule the majority applied, whether the 3-0 defeat rule changes the table, and whether an appeal or a court order reverses the sanction.
- Power Index Chile ranks 3rd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 63.6 points (October 2026 edition).
In Plain English
The ANFP is the clubs’ own governing association, a corporation that stages the three professional leagues and operates its own courts. Primera B is its second tier, listed on the ANFP site as the Liga de Ascenso.
The Tribunal de Disciplina is the ANFP’s disciplinary court, with a seven-judge first chamber (Primera Sala) and a five-judge second chamber (Segunda Sala) that hears appeals. The Consejo de Presidentes de Clubes is the assembly of club presidents that votes on some disaffiliations.
Desafiliación, or disaffiliation, means loss of membership in the ANFP. Chilean outlets call a result decided in a tribunal office instead of on the pitch an escritoriazo, a colloquial word.
Chile’s Primera B disaffiliation rules were put to a live test on Tuesday 27 October, when the disciplinary tribunal of the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (ANFP) voted 6-1 to disaffiliate the club San Marcos de Arica. Primera B is the second division, and disaffiliation ends a club’s membership in the body that runs Chilean professional football.
The verdict is not final: San Marcos can still appeal to a second chamber, and the clock starts only when the written sentence arrives, expected on Friday 30 October. A separate report covers the ruling against San Marcos de Arica, while this article explains the rules, the gaps and the precedents.
How the Primera B Disaffiliation Rules Work
The grounds sit in article 10 of the ANFP regulation, in force since 1 January 2026, and range from refusing to play to handing the association false documents. Several carry a fine first and disaffiliation only for repeat offenders, but false documents bring disaffiliation outright, while adulterated ones bring relegation at the end of the season.
La Tercera wrote that the club allegedly filed sworn financial statements that did not match its later audited accounts, and ADN reported that the ANFP asked for disaffiliation or, if the papers were adulterated rather than false, relegation. The tribunal has not yet published which rule its majority applied.
Disaffiliation is normally decided by the Council of Club Presidents with four fifths of the votes, but for the document grounds the tribunal can impose it directly (article 10.2). The dissenting judge wanted the file sent to the Council, citing the earlier regulation in force when the facts occurred.
A disaffiliated club may return only by earning promotion to the lowest professional division, and the ANFP retains the broadcast and other shared revenue due to the club for the rest of the season to meet its own obligations, with any remainder passing to the other clubs (articles 10.3 and 10.6). Loss of membership does not cancel the club’s debts to the association or to other members.
Where Primera B Sits in Chilean Football
The ANFP organizes three professional tiers: the Primera División (branded Liga de Primera), Primera B and the Segunda División. The 2026 league rules give them 16, 16 and 14 clubs respectively.
Each Primera B club plays 30 matches, and the champion goes up at once while the clubs placed second to eighth enter a playoff for a second promotion place. The bottom club is relegated directly to the Segunda División.
What Happens to Results and the Table
Article 87 of the 2026 Primera B rules treats a club sanctioned with loss of category during the season as last in the table, with every played and remaining match counted as a 3-0 defeat unless the opponent won by more. The published verdict mentions that article only in a note by one member of the six-judge majority.
BioBioChile projected that Cobreloa and San Luis would each gain three points, reaching 57, while La Tercera wrote that the points are not handed to opponents and the table does not move. Cooperativa applied the 3-0 rule, and primerabchile.cl argued that the public verdict does not show the majority ordering a recalculation.
The ANFP documents consulted, including the verdict and the regulations it cites, say nothing about the club’s players, contracts or youth teams. The national outlets did not report an answer either.
The Appeal Ladder and the Clock
Sanctions on clubs are always appealable to the second chamber, and the appeal is filed with the first chamber within five days of notification of the sentence (articles 47 and 51 of the Code of Procedure and Penalties). Day counts in that code are business days, so weekends and public holidays do not count (article 2).
Tribunal secretary Simón Marín said the written sentence is expected on Friday, as Cooperativa quoted him, and the outlet counted a deadline of Wednesday 4 November. Five business days from a Friday 30 October notification would end on Friday 6 November, which fits ADN’s reference to five business days and the club’s own statement.
Appealing does not by itself suspend a club sanction, but the appellant can ask the second chamber for an order of no innovation, which it must answer within two days (article 47). The second chamber can confirm, revoke or change a sanction, even to increase it, and has 15 days from the filing to issue its sentence on a disaffiliation.
After the internal instances, the ANFP statutes send disputes to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne (article 42.1) and allow ordinary courts only where ANFP, FIFA or CONMEBOL rules permit. San Marcos has already tried the Court of Appeals of Arica, which declared its protection action inadmissible on 9 October, and La Tercera reported that the club asked it to reconsider.
Earlier Cases and the Melipilla Precedents
The national press documents two earlier cases, both involving Deportes Melipilla, a club from the Santiago region. In December 2021 the first chamber expelled it over double contracts, and RedGol reported that the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected its appeal in April 2022 after the second chamber had imposed relegation through a points deduction.
In January 2025 the first chamber disaffiliated Melipilla by 5 votes to 2 over allegedly false documents, in a complaint by Deportes Concepción. On 30 January the second chamber unanimously revoked the disaffiliation for lack of conviction that the documents were false, although a separate three-point deduction stayed.
What It Means for You
For US readers there is no direct exposure, because no US club, broadcaster or investor appears in the verdict or the complaints reviewed. The lesson is that in Chile a club’s filings to the ANFP financial control unit can carry league-ending consequences.
Fans following the final round, from Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November, should treat any recalculated table as provisional until the written sentence and any appeal are decided. Wider context is collected on the Chile news hub, and an earlier piece covers Colo-Colo’s request to keep a nickname on its goalkeeper’s shirt.
What Is Not Known
The written sentence has not been issued, so it is not known which rule the majority applied, what evidence it used or whether article 87 changes the table. The club says it has not been told the grounds and will use every available legal instrument.
It is also not known whether the second chamber or a court will suspend the sanction before the final round, or what happens to the players. No official ANFP count of earlier disaffiliations was found, which leaves the Melipilla cases as the only confirmed benchmarks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does disaffiliation mean in Chilean football?
It means a club loses its membership in the ANFP, the association that runs Chile’s professional leagues. It can return only by earning promotion to the lowest professional division and meeting the entry requirements.
Can San Marcos de Arica still appeal?
Yes, the club can appeal to the second chamber of the ANFP disciplinary tribunal within five business days of notification of the written sentence. That notification is due on Friday 30 October, according to the tribunal secretary.
What is Primera B in Chile?
Primera B is Chile’s second professional division, with 16 clubs in 2026. Under the 2026 rules two clubs are promoted, the champion and a playoff winner, and one is relegated.
Has a Chilean club been disaffiliated before?
The national press documents two Deportes Melipilla cases, an expulsion in December 2021 and a disaffiliation in January 2025. Both ended with a lighter outcome after appeal.
Does the ruling change the Primera B table?
That is unsettled. Article 87 of the league rules treats a sanctioned club as last with 3-0 defeats, but the published verdict mentions it only in one judge’s note, and outlets disagree on the effect.
Sources: ANFP Tribunal de Disciplina, verdict on San Marcos de Arica, 27 Oct 2026; ANFP verdict on Deportes Puerto Montt, 27 Oct 2026; ANFP second chamber ruling, 22 Oct 2026; ANFP regulation 2026, regulation 2024, Code of Procedure and Penalties and statutes; ANFP league rules for Primera División, Primera B and Segunda División 2026; La Tercera, 27 Oct 2026; La Tercera, court filing, 27 Oct 2026; BioBioChile, 27 Oct 2026; Cooperativa, 27 Oct 2026; Cooperativa, table, 27 Oct 2026; ADN, 29 Sep 2026; ADN, 27 Oct 2026; primerabchile.cl, 28 Oct 2026; primerabchile.cl, club statement, 28 Oct 2026; RedGol, final round schedule, 25 Oct 2026; T13, 27 Dec 2021; RedGol, 11 Apr 2022; BioBioChile, 14 Jan 2025; Cooperativa, 30 Jan 2025.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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