Pirlo’s appointment as Italy’s coach called off
The appointment former AC Milan and Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo as the new Italian national team head coach has been called off owing to his links with a Russian betting company.
Italian Football Federation (FIGC) President Giovanni Malagò called off the deal on today (Monday) after deciding not to proceed with signatures due to Pirlo’s link with the betting brand.
Malagò decided not to go ahead with the deal after a probe revealed that Pirlo plays a role as a commercial ambassador for a Russian-capital betting company identified as Fonbet, whose operations are banned in Italy.
Reports say Italian politicians and federation members strongly objected to the commercial link while critics argued that a national team coach should not have ties to Russian corporate sponsors amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
While reacting to calls to call off the deal, Pirlo stated he learned he was cut from the position to become the new Italy head coach on Sunday night.
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Pirlo who is considered as one of the best midfielders of all time, defended the partnership on Instagram, stating it was strictly for sports and business, not politics.
He posted: “After learning last night that I am no longer the candidate to lead the Italian national team, I believe it is my duty to clarify a few points.
“In the last few days I have witnessed with great bitterness the debate that has developed around my name and the possibility of taking over the role of head coach of the Italian national team.
“During my career, first as a football player and now as a coach, I have always carried out my activity in full respect to the laws of the countries I worked in and the contracts I signed.”
“To attribute a political meaning to such a collaboration means to attribute convictions that I have never expressed and that do not belong to me,” added Pirlo, who is currently managing UAE Pro League club United FC in Dubai.
