The Malagò case and the possible placement of the FIGC under administration: CONI convenes its executive committee – what might happen?

A turning point for the future of the FIGC, which has been jeopardised by the issue of President Giovanni Malagò’s membership status, is set to take place next week. CONI has convened a meeting of its executive committee for Tuesday 6 October at 1.00 pm, at which a decision will be taken on placing the Italian Football Federation under special administration. This will be followed by a meeting of the National Council.

This was announced by Luciano Buonfiglio, president of the Olympic Committee, on the sidelines of the presentation of the new water polo season, specifying that the date had been chosen ‘to accommodate President Malagò, who was working to a tight schedule’.

“We have made sure we are well prepared so as to leave no room for interpretation. We will send the four legal opinions from our lawyers to the presidents of the federations,” explained Buonfiglio, adding that “we are called upon to decide without any ifs or buts. As a public official, I have a duty to document this, and these four opinions are set in stone. I will submit a report and the legal opinions will be sent out so that no one can claim they were not informed in good time.”

On 6 October, therefore, the CONI executive committee will deliver a verdict that will decide the fate of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). The affair began in the summer, with a formal appeal lodged with the sports arbitration tribunal immediately after Malagò’s election by Renato Miele, a candidate for the presidency of the FIGC. Miele accused the former five-a-side footballer of not holding a valid FIGC membership card at the time of submitting his candidacy, a mandatory requirement for eligibility. Giuseppe Chinè, head of the FIGC’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, had requested that the investigation be closed, whilst the General Sports Prosecutor, Ugo Taucer, referred the case to CONI, asking it to verify whether any irregularities had in fact taken place.

“We will ensure that the executive committee cannot adopt a self-serving approach by overstepping the boundaries of our decision-making remit,” promised Buonfiglio. “I have no doubts about their sense of responsibility and their commitment to the world of sport,” concluded the CONI president. “We need to restore ethics and respect for the rules; we have a duty to do so because we talk endlessly about these values, but when it comes down to it, we lack the courage and consistency to apply them.”