The president of the FIGC, Gabriele Gravina, responds to the Serie A League and points the finger at Claudio Lotito, president of Lazio. “I think talking about authoritarian tendencies is a lack of institutional respect”, says Gravina in his speech “Il Foglio a San Siro” regarding the statements of the president of the Lega Serie A Lorenzo Casini in the hearing at the Culture, Education and Sports Commission of the Senate on the prospects for reform of Italian football. “It is notable that a few months ago the Federation was considered static and incapable of making proposals. As soon as we make proposals, then we talk about authoritarianism. It should not be confused with the exercise of democracy. We have the duty to ensure compliance with the regulatory framework”, he adds.
“There is a clear strategy of the Lega Serie A, we must fully understand how in Italy some people can be part of the federal council, of the Lega council and be both the owner of a company and also a senator”, Gravina states again, calling Lazio president Claudio Lotito is involved. “I would be careful about the Federation-League dispute, I have a splendid relationship with many presidents. Then there are people who think they can manage the world of football as they please. I’m referring to Lotito and Lotitism.”
Lotito’s response
“I read with amazement Mr. Gravina’s statements about me, which speak for themselves: clear manifestations of pure hostility and broken resentment towards me, in order to defend himself from the responsibilities regarding the current state of football in Italy that everyone attributes to him “. This is the harsh reply in a note from the president of Lazio and senator of Forza Italia, Claudio Lotito, to the words of the president of the FIGC, Gabriele Gravina. “His personal relationships with some presidents do not exclude the discomfort and confusion that today reigns in the football system, shared by all operators who seek, despite the obstacles posed by Mr. Gravina, to renew the rules”.
“My position as club owner, federal councilor, League councilor and member of the Senate, roles acquired with regular and democratic elections, allows me to have a broader and more complete vision of the problems and possible solutions to eliminate the faults produced The world of football does not ask for isolation, but requires a broad vision of its various components, to which my institutional roles, given the important and high value of football, give me the opportunity to offer an active contribution, bringing it out of a ‘autonomy mistakenly understood as ‘personal grand duchy’”, concludes Lotito.
