Italian Minister of Sports Calls for Resignations After Defeat by Bosnia and Herzegovina's National Team

(Patria) - Italian Minister of Sports Andrea Abodi called on Wednesday for the resignation of the president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) following Italy's failure to qualify for the World Cup.

It is clear to everyone that Italian football needs to be rebuilt, he wrote in a statement a day after Italy's defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European playoff final on penalties.

According to the minister, "this process must include renewal within the FIGC leadership," which has been presided over by Gabriele Gravina since 2018.

The previous two presidents of the Federation resigned after failures in 2014 (elimination in the group stage of the World Cup) and 2018 (elimination by Sweden in the World Cup playoffs for Russia).

"I expect a targeted response from the Italian Football Federation. It could happen that they force me to act through Parliament, but I would rather leave that decision to the FIGC. It is important not to repeat the same mistake or pretend nothing happened," the minister stated.

After Italy's defeat by Bosnia in Zenica on penalties, Gabriele Gravina, preempting calls for his resignation, called a meeting of the Executive Committee for the following week to take stock. The first meeting with representatives of the professional leagues (Serie A, Serie B, and Serie C) and players' and coaches' associations is scheduled for Thursday.

On Tuesday evening, the FIGC president admitted that Italian football is experiencing "a deep crisis, a general crisis that requires comprehensive reflection, not only from the Federation but also from the Italian political sphere." Gravina repeatedly referred to the government, complaining about obstacles it faced, which did not satisfy the Minister of Sports.

He also provoked a strong reaction from prominent figures in Italian sports by calling other sports, compared to football, "amateurs."