Support for Galliani

Despite calls to resign in the wake of Calciopoli, the Serie A and B clubs have supported Lega Calcio chief Adriano Galliani.

“The Lega Calcio has not been touched by this scandal, so it does not need a revolution,” insisted Brescia President Gino Corioni. “This institution is clean and there are no telephone wiretaps featuring Lega employees, so there is nothing to worry about. What we must do is change some of the rules and we voted unanimously to come back in a month’s time with a new proposal.”

Galliani is one of the only major figures in the Italian football world who has not handed in his resignation during the scandal rocking this sport.

Today’s meeting of the Lega Calcio – a union of the Serie A and B sides – saw Milan representative Galliani given a vote of confidence, but his Vice-President Maurizio Zamparini continues to demand he step aside. “We need to change the entire governance of the Lega, but even if nothing changes until then, I will certainly quit in August,” said the Palermo patron. “At the start of the meeting I announced the radical revamp of the leadership had to be completed within two months. What we need is a Lega President who is not also in charge of a club, as that is the only way to avoid a conflict of interests. The only ones who disagree with this statement are Galliani and Lazio’s Claudio Lotito.”

With ‘the system’ now being blamed more than individuals who took advantage of it, there is a race against time to re-write the rule books.

“Like Guido Rossi at the FIGC, we will also change the rules of the Lega Calcio and must do so as soon as possible,” noted Galliani. “The difference is that we don’t need an extraordinary commissioner to come in for this task, as the current Lega board can achieve it. I won’t resign because the Lega was not implicated in the scandal, although obviously I’ll step aside if the new rules prevent one of the 42 club Presidents to take this role.”

As the scandal continues to spread, Gianluigi Buffon was interrogated by Parma’s public prosecutors for two hours this afternoon with regards to his betting habits. “There is nothing illegal going on here and we are also relaxed with regards to the sporting regulations,” assured his lawyer, Mario Valerio Corini. “Now Gigi can concentrate on the World Cup.”