ROME — A solution was found to keep Giovanni Malagò in charge of the beleaguered Italian soccer federation on Tuesday despite an irregularity in his election this year.
While Malagò was stripped of the presidency, he was named as the federation’s emergency commissioner on an interim basis pending a new election.
The compromise was made in a last-minute meeting between Malagò and Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) president Luciano Buonfiglio, just before CONI voted on the matter.
The irregularity was that Malagò was not registered as a member of the soccer federation at the time of the election in June.
Malagò received 68.58% of the votes in the election, easily beating former federation president Giancarlo Abete, who received 29.17% and was the only other candidate.
The vote was to replace Gabriele Gravina, who resigned after four-time champion Italy failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.
A new election will likely be held in January, with Malagò expected to run again.
Malagò previously led the Italian Olympic Committee and the Milan Cortina Olympics organizing committee. He’s also an International Olympic Committee member.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin warned Italian authorities of political interference if Malagò was removed.
Besides the struggling national team — which has shown improvement under returning coach Roberto Mancini in the Nations League — Malagò has also inherited Italy’s problem-plagued preparations for hosting the 2032 European Championship.
Last week, the federation submitted a list to UEFA of 14 stadiums in 13 cities that could potentially host games for the tournament that is being co-organized with Turkey. But only one of the venues — Juventus’ Allianz Stadium in Turin — is ready.
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