The South American Football Confederation had just voiced its "concern over the repeated unilateral moves" by FIFA when the Argentine Football Association broke ranks. Within hours of CONMEBOL's stance, it declared its support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
That backing lands at a delicate moment. Infantino is facing mounting pressure after FIFA scrapped its controversial plan to set up an affiliated commercial company and open part of its capital to private investors.
Published in the early hours of Friday, the Argentine statement addressed Infantino directly: "We would like to express to you, and to FIFA's administration through you, our support for the administration that has been carried out over the past ten years."
The association praised FIFA's decision to abandon the project. It cast Infantino's acknowledgement of the mistakes made during the preparation of the plan, along with his apology to the 211 member associations, as a positive step.
As reported by the RMC network, the statement went on: "You are at the head of an administration that has allowed a profound transformation to take place at FIFA, an administration that has opened the doors of the organisation to all member associations and continental confederations, which enables us, through frank and direct dialogue, to continue working together to develop football at all levels and in its various disciplines."
Argentina's federation added: "With the next FIFA congress approaching, the association renews its deep conviction that the way forward lies in continuing to work under your leadership, in order to keep developing better and more inclusive football."
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Argentine support despite CONMEBOL escalation
This is significant support for Infantino, all the more so because it came just hours after a surprise escalation by CONMEBOL, the very confederation Argentina belongs to.
On Thursday evening, CONMEBOL unanimously voiced its "concern over the repeated unilateral moves that are taken without resorting to dialogue or the institutional mechanisms stipulated for dealing with such cases".
The South American body also hinted that it might not renew its support for Infantino in the FIFA presidential election scheduled for March 2027. He remains the only candidate so far.
Europe's 55 associations are pressing on with their campaign against him. They have kept up their boycott of FIFA competitions, the World Cup included, even after the governing body dropped its commercial project.
CONCACAF, which comprises 35 FIFA member associations, has called for a "comprehensive review" of the way the governing body is run.
Africa took the opposite view. CAF's 54 member associations unanimously renewed their support for Infantino, while the 46-strong Asian Football Confederation remains divided over the FIFA president.
All of this sets the stage for the presidential election in March 2027, with disputes escalating between Infantino and a string of continental and national associations over FIFA's management style and how decisions are made.