The theme of sports reformswith the request of A league to have greater autonomy from FIGC and greater political weight in Federal Council, seems to have rekindled the climate of conflict that had always characterized the federal presidency of Gabriele Gravina since his election in 2018. The heaviest attacks have come from Claudio Lotitoforever great enemy of the number one of the Football Federationand there has certainly been no shortage of replies.
As reported in today’s edition of The Corriere dello Sportthe Lega Serie A seems to have a non-explicit but evident objective: destabilize those in powerin this case Gravina, which however counts on support of Lega Pro, amateurs, soccer players, coaches And referees. During the federal councils, the proposals are generally approved with a very large majority, despite the negative vote of Serie A, which represents over 80% of the electoral weight.
Despite that, removing Gravina seems like a Herculean taskgiven that the 17% that is formed, i.e. Serie A and to a lesser extent Serie B, represents the driving force of the system, also providing the financial resources necessary for the sports system.
The position of the League of A is severely limited by that 12% political weight. Serie A wants greater autonomy and say in decisions, with the president Lorenzo Casini who appointed a group of lawyers to study the “Premier model” and thus obtain greater autonomy. The marginal presence in the decisions has led to frustration among the federal councilors for the League, including Lotito himself, Beppe Marotta and Casini.
The Serie A number one recently criticized the current system, underlining theexcessive centralization of powers in the hands of the federal president. These statements triggered the reaction of Gravina, who spoke of “Lotism”while the senator attributed responsibility for the crisis in football to Gravina.
In the last federal council, Serie A approved the economic reforms to make the more sustainable footballbut only because the criteria applied were specific to the Serie B and Cwhile the Serie A has obtained an adjustment to UEFA parameters. Despite this, there have been tensions and legal conflicts in the past, such as when Serie A sued the FIGC over theliquidity index or when some teams tried to convince Gravina to adopt a 18 team format. Front that saw active Inter, Juventus, Milan And Rome. Also there sports justice was influenced by these internal struggles, with overlaps between the competences of the judge of A and the federal prosecutor’s office.
In short, a complex system from other times which with the passing of the seasons increasingly risks imploding, especially due to the blows it suffers from within from that fringe which is eager to depose those in power to create his own new and exclusive order of things.
