Argentine football chief Tapia removed from FIFA role

ASUNCION - Argentine Football Association president Claudio Tapia was Tuesday stripped of his place on FIFA's executive council after his criticism of this year's Copa America in Brazil.

In a statement, South American football governing body CONMEBOL said an election would be held in the coming weeks to replace the 51-year-old, without providing details.

"Given the seriousness of the comments publicly used by Mr Tapia, considering the importance of his position, CONMEBOL has decided to withdraw with immediate effect its confidence Claudio Tapia, thereby temporarily reducing CONMEBOL's representation to FIFA," the Paraguay-based body said.

Tapia claimed that Argentina were hurt by biased refereeing decisions during their 2-0 Copa America semifinal loss to Brazil in Belo Horizonte on July 2.

Albiceleste captain Lionel Messi also lambasted referee Roddy Zambrano after the match and accused CONMEBOL of corruption. The 32-year-old Barcelona forward later retracted his comments and apologized.