Breaking: Tavecchio resigns, Italian football in crisis

20 nov 2017

According to Sky Sport Italia, Carlo Tavecchio has resigned from his role as president of the FIGC, Italy’s soccer federation. The move comes exactly one week after the proud soccer nation suffered its greatest embarrassment when they failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years.

After Italy lost 1-0 on aggregate to Sweden over the course of a two-legged playoff, calls for him and the manager he hired, Giampiero Ventura, to resign began in earnest. However, both remained defiant in the days after, refusing to resign.

In Ventura’s case, he decided against resigning because he’d forfeit a significant amount of money. By being fired, he was able to reach a settlement with the FIGC two days later.

In Tavecchio’s case, he was resolute in his desire to stay on as president. He held out for an entire week until pressure, both internal and external, was too much for him to bare.

The future of Italy’s overarching soccer organization is officially in a crisis.