The appointment of Andrea Pirlo as head of the Italian National Team enters a delicate phase. According to La Repubblica, the president of the FIGC Malagò has launched an in-depth analysis of the coach’s position, particularly regarding his contractual relationships with entities linked to Russia.
Pirlo has been coaching United FC, a club in the Emirates, since last year, which maintains relations with Fonbet, the main Russian sports betting agency. The connection between the team and the betting company goes through Sergey Lomakin, owner of the club and shareholder of Fonbet. The agency promotes Russian sports activities abroad, including tournaments for war veterans, and the agreement should lapse if Pirlo were to take on the role of head coach.
The issue takes on political significance at a time when Italy has taken a clear stance in favor of Kiev. Malagò, who had delegated the technical reconstruction to Paolo Maldini and Leonardo, now finds himself evaluating the opportunity to confirm a choice that was not initially among his top preferences. The Federation’s lawyers are examining the image rights clause linked to Fonbet.
On the financial front, to release Pirlo from United FC it would be necessary to pay a penalty, which the coach would be willing to cover personally. Another point of discussion concerns the children of the executives involved: Nicolò Pirlo collaborates with Gersh Sports, while Christian Maldini works with Giuseppe Riso’s GR Sports. FIGC regulations prohibit conflicts of interest for sports agents, but both have collaborative roles, not representative ones, so formal incompatibility would not exist.
In this scenario, Malagò continues to consider Roberto Mancini. The former Inter coach left Al-Sadd precisely in the hope of being called back to the Azzurri bench, a role he has always desired. According to La Repubblica, Mancini is experiencing this wait with a certain frustration, as so far there has been no official contact from the Federation.
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