Carlo Tavecchio has leapt to the defence of his record as FIGC President. “I’m a football expert.”
Tavecchio stepped down from the FIGC after Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, which marked their first no-show for 60 years, but the 75-year-old made it clear he had still plenty to offer.
“I hope those supported by the majority will work to find a credible President,” he told Corriere dello Sport.
Carlo Tavecchio has leapt to the defence of his record as FIGC President. “I’m a football expert.”
Tavecchio stepped down from the FIGC after Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, which marked their first no-show for 60 years, but the 75-year-old made it clear he had still plenty to offer.
“I hope those supported by the majority will work to find a credible President,” he told Corriere dello Sport.
“If there is no President then the government would intervene to appoint… a Commissioner of the Commissioner, a super-federal figure who would mark a turning point.
“Reform necessary? I led a project that could make both the activities of the national team and individual championships sustainable.
“I wanted 18 teams in Serie A, 20 in B and 18 or 20 in two groups in Serie C. That way, there would’ve been a minimum of 24 teams less and a third party, external to the federation, which took care of controlling budgets and ownership.
“In Italy, however, no-one is ready to accept such retrocession. There’s hypocrisy. Does our sports justice system have any idea what football is?
“Cesena were penalised for going bust, rather than suffering a -15 point deduction. Can it really have happened like this?
“My management being downplayed? It’s something I regret because first of all, Italy had only two teams in the Champions League. Now we have four thanks to those who supported Infantino and Ceferin.
“We’ll have four European Championship matches in Rome, while Paris won’t have any. We’ll host the European Under-21 Championship in 2019 and we were the first to introduce VAR.
“In addition, there is considerable liquidity in the coffers of the federation. I’m a football expert, and there are only a few of those in this country.”