Italy’s Football Federation chairman has resigned after days of media speculation on the role of the federation in selecting referees.
In his resignation letter Franco Carraro denied all the accusations but said he had to go for the sake of the game.
“The federation’s commitment in the coming days and months are so many and so large that it will need a management that is fully able to fulfil its functions and concentrate on itself,” he said.
Carraro’s departure comes amid a scandal caused by tapped phone conversations between key figures in the game and Juventus’s 68-year-old director general Luciano Moggi.
Moggi dismissed their content as “a load of rubbish”.
However, he apparently has a friendly relationship with Pierluigi Pairetto, the man responsible for assigning referees to Serie A matches and FIGC vice-president Innocenzo Mazzini.
In a separate development, Rome prosecutors announced they had placed Moggi under investigation for illegal competition with threats and violence.
Carraro’s decision to resign is seen as a belated response to the scandal.
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