Pirlo out of running for Italy job over link to Russian betting company

What the report says

BBC Sport Football reports that Andrea Pirlo says he is no longer in contention to become Italy’s national team coach after controversy over his connection to Russian betting company Fonbet. Pirlo, currently head coach of Dubai United in the UAE, had not been formally announced by the Italian Football Federation, but the BBC says his appointment had been viewed as highly likely before the backlash.

The criticism focused on Pirlo’s role, taken up last October, as a global ambassador for Fonbet. The BBC reports that the company has backed sporting events involving veterans of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and that Pirlo appeared at events in Russia alongside figures supportive of the Kremlin. Italian politicians including Carlo Calenda and European Parliament vice-president Pina Picierno publicly questioned whether someone with such associations should take a national role.

In an Instagram post on Monday, Pirlo said he had learned he was no longer a candidate and argued that his commercial work had no political meaning. He said any professional collaboration linked to his coaching role in Dubai was sporting and commercial, and rejected the suggestion that it reflected political views. The Russian ambassador in Rome, Aleksey Paramonov, defended Pirlo and said he was being ostracized in Italy.

The dispute adds pressure on the FIGC as it searches for a coach after Italy’s latest World Cup qualification failure and Gennaro Gattuso’s departure. BBC Sport says new technical director Paolo Maldini and adviser Leonardo had been leading the search, with Italian media now linking Antonio Conte and Roberto Mancini to the post after reported approaches to Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti were unsuccessful.