Cairo: ‘Tavecchio must resign’

Jordan Russell (@JordRuss96)
16 nov 2017

Torino president Urbano Cairo has discussed Giampiero Ventura’s sacking from his post as Italy CT with La Gazzetta dello Sport, touching on a wide range of issues related to the governance of Italian football. He also spoke about Carlo Tavecchio’s refusal to resign from his role as FIGC president, despite abject failure to qualify for next summer’s World Cup.

Cairo began by insisting Italy’s problems must be faced with actions, not words:
“The defeat against Sweden is such a serious result that it cannot be overcome with words. It is not enough to promise reforms, everything should be reset.

And yet Tavecchio has not resigned…
“It is an epic failure, and devalues our society. When something like this happens, those in charge must pay the price. Even as Torino president, I have experienced very difficult moments as I obviously made mistakes. Yes, I continued in charge but paid a heavy economic price. People must understand that failure to qualify for the World Cup is serious, as it has not happened for 60 years.

So Tavecchio is wrong to continue?
“When he was elected for the first time, I did not vote for him. Then I voted for his reelection as I liked some of the work he did – he did better than I expected. My overall judgement is positive but, faced with this failure, there must be consequences. We cannot continue like this, nor will it be enough to simply elect a famous and well-liked name to the position either.