The country of Alessandro Del Piero, Roberto Baggio and Andrea Pirlo suffered a football tragedy on Tuesday night â and its politicians are incandescent with rage.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloniâs party requested an official briefing in parliament on Wednesday after the countryâs menâs national football team failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the third consecutive time.
Sports Minister Andrea Abodi called for Italyâs football chief Gabriele Gravina to step down, a message echoed by MPs from the right-wing governing coalition. âItâs obvious that Italian football needs to be relaunched and that this process must begin with a change in leadership at FIGC [the national football federation],â the minister said, according to multiple reports by Italian media.
Galeazzo Bignami, the leader in the chamber of deputies of Meloniâs Brothers of Italy party, wrote on X that Gravina âmust simply resign,â adding that, âItalian football needs to be overhauled, and his resignation is essential.â
Four-time world champions Italy lost a playoff match on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday night.
Its most recent appearance at the World Cup was in 2014, when the team didnât make it out of the group phase; then it failed to qualify for Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022. The last time the Azzurri actually won a knockout match on footballâs biggest stage was before the first iPhone was released.
Brothers of Italy MP Salvatore Caiata added during Wednesdayâs parliamentary session that Gravina âstole a dream from our young people,â by allowing a crisis in Italyâs favorite pastime to unfold over the past three years.
But not all lawmakers were in tune with the resignation demand.
âYou can ask for Gravinaâs head, but donât dodge the responsibilities you have,â Green-Left Alliance MP Marco Grimaldi hit back, implying the governmentâs lack of action on sports initiatives is one of the main contributing factors to Italian footballâs current dire state.
The Democratic Partyâs Mauro Berruto agreed, claiming the government should focus on investigating âthe reasons that brought about the abyss in Italian football.â
The item was the first thing on the parliamentary agenda Wednesday morning.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloniâs party requested an official briefing in parliament on Wednesday after the countryâs menâs national football team failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the third consecutive time.
Sports Minister Andrea Abodi called for Italyâs football chief Gabriele Gravina to step down, a message echoed by MPs from the right-wing governing coalition. âItâs obvious that Italian football needs to be relaunched and that this process must begin with a change in leadership at FIGC [the national football federation],â the minister said, according to multiple reports by Italian media.
Galeazzo Bignami, the leader in the chamber of deputies of Meloniâs Brothers of Italy party, wrote on X that Gravina âmust simply resign,â adding that, âItalian football needs to be overhauled, and his resignation is essential.â
Four-time world champions Italy lost a playoff match on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday night.
Its most recent appearance at the World Cup was in 2014, when the team didnât make it out of the group phase; then it failed to qualify for Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022. The last time the Azzurri actually won a knockout match on footballâs biggest stage was before the first iPhone was released.
Brothers of Italy MP Salvatore Caiata added during Wednesdayâs parliamentary session that Gravina âstole a dream from our young people,â by allowing a crisis in Italyâs favorite pastime to unfold over the past three years.
But not all lawmakers were in tune with the resignation demand.
âYou can ask for Gravinaâs head, but donât dodge the responsibilities you have,â Green-Left Alliance MP Marco Grimaldi hit back, implying the governmentâs lack of action on sports initiatives is one of the main contributing factors to Italian footballâs current dire state.
The Democratic Partyâs Mauro Berruto agreed, claiming the government should focus on investigating âthe reasons that brought about the abyss in Italian football.â
The item was the first thing on the parliamentary agenda Wednesday morning.
