Italy federation chief resigns after failing to deliver World Cup qualification again
Italy missed out on World Cup qualification for the third time in a row after their play-off final defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Italian Football Federation chief Gabriele Gravina has resigned from his post after the national team failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row. One of the most glittering football nations historically, the Azzurri could not fend off Bosnia and Herzogovina in a play-off final, losing on penalties after surrendering an early lead. It means Italy ’s wait for a first World Cup appearance since 2014 will go on for at least another four years, with Bosnia serving up this latest humiliation for the four-time winners.
Italy sports minister Andrea Abodi had called for a change in leadership of the country’s football federation (FIGC) after Gravina oversaw two sets of disappointing World Cup qualifiers, and he has now bowed to the rising political pressure and left his role. Italian Football Federation chief Gabriele Gravina at Italy’s play-off final in Bosnia (Getty Images) The federation will hold an extraordinary assembly on 22 June to elect a new chief, while Gravina offered to appear before a parliamentary committee on 8 April "to report on the state of health of Italian football", a statement said. Following Gravina’s departure, Gennaro Gattuso is expected to similarly be ousted as manager , who replaced Luciano Spalletti early in the qualification campaign after defeat to Norway.
That is because Gattuso is now without one of his key supporters, with Gravina saying after the defeat to Bosnia that he had asked the former AC Milan midfielder to stay on. He said: "I want to congratulate Rino Gattuso. He is a great coach, I asked him to stay at the helm with these boys.
There is little to comment, the coach called them heroic. Then, I understand there are several evaluations to be made. " Gattuso, meanwhile, had refused to speak about his future after Italy’s World Cup failure.