Pirlo Withdraws from Italy Job After Backlash Over Russian Sportsbook Ties

Italian soccer legend Andrea Pirlo has withdrawn from contention to become Italy’s national team head coach after concerns emerged over the weekend about his links to Russian betting company Fonbet.

Pirlo’s withdrawal prompted the resignations of Italian great Paolo Maldini, the Italian Football Federation’s technical director, as well as his adviser, Brazil World Cup winner Leonardo, both of whom had backed Pirlo for the role.

Italy Soccer Turmoil

Former midfield playmaker Pirlo was considered to be first choice to replace Gennaro Gattuso, who resigned in April after the country failed to qualify for a third successive World Cup.

But several Italian politicians criticized the decision because of Pirlo’s commercial relationship with Fonbet. In October, the former Juventus and AC Milan player signed up as a “global ambassador” for the company. This has involved appearing at events in Moscow alongside “pro-Kremlin figures,” according to the BBC.

Anyone who is or has been promoting Russia after 2022 should not hold national office,” Carlo Calenda of the centrist Azione party told Italian media.

Founded in 1994 by chess grandmaster Anatoly Machulsky, Moscow-based Fonbet is widely regarded as Russia’s largest sportsbook by customer numbers, with more than 1,000 retail betting shops alongside its international online business.

Last year, Pirlo attended an event in Moscow that drew scrutiny because it was also attended by nationalist pro-Kremlin singer Shaman, an outspoken supporter of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine who has been sanctioned by the EU.

‘Great Bitterness’

In an Instagram post on Monday (July 28) Pirlo said he regretted that a sporting decision had been “dragged into a public debate that ended up attributing to me meanings and intentions that are not mine.”

“In recent days, I have witnessed with great bitterness the debate that has developed around my name and the possibility of serving as Head Coach of the Italian national team,” he wrote, adding that the deal with Fonbet arose through his time in the United Arab Emirates, where he coached Dubai United, and was “exclusively of a commercial and sporting nature.”

Roberto Mancini, who coached the Azzurri from 2018 to 2023, winning the European Championships in 2021, is now widely tipped for the job.