FIGC chief Carraro quits

Franco Carraro has resigned as President of the Italian Football Federation in the immediate aftermath of the latest scandal to hit the Italian game.

The Federation chief has come under increasing pressure to stand down as a result of the telephone interception allegations which has brought into question the credibility of the Italian game. Although Carraro pledged that the “sporting justice system would act quickly and with vigour” with regard to the issue, he has this evening thrown in the towel. “The Federation’s commitment in the coming days and months are so many and large that it will need a management that is fully able to fulfill its functions and concentrate on itself,” he stated.

The FIGC official made the decision to quit after holding talks with Gianni Petrucci and Raffaele Pagnozzi, two leading figures of CONI – Italy’s Olympic Committee.

Carraro’s decision to step down, which he was set to do later this year anyway, has seen Vice-President Giancarlo Abete automatically promoted to the top job.

This latest development hasn’t exactly shocked the Italian public, neither has it come as a surprise to League President Adriano Galliani. “Franco Carraro’s resignation is a courageous act and doesn’t come as a surprise to people who know him, like I know him,” he stated this evening. “Italian football has the need to continue with a President like him, capable, intelligent. For this motive it is my personal hope that he reconsiders his decision.”

The Federation are about to start their enquiry into a number of telephone calls which were intercepted by Turin magistrates between some prominent figures of authority in the Italian game, but not directly involving Carraro. He’s decided to walk given the FIGC’s sluggish reaction to the outrage, seeing as they sat on the relevant documents for two months before they were leaked to the national Press.

The scandal has somewhat overshadowed the conclusion to the Serie A season and there are calls for calcio to make a fresh start. “I want a radical system change,” stated Players’ Association President Sergio Campana. “We have the right to request that justice is done speedily and the appropriate sanctions are in proportion with the acts committed. The Federation has the necessity to give football credibility again.”