ROME (ITALPRESS) – “I am running again. It was not an easy decision, but a very thoughtful one.” This was announced in an interview with ‘Il Corriere della Serà by Figc president Gabriele Gravina, who will therefore seek re-election to the leadership of the federation on February 3. “Certain forms of aggression that I have received in recent weeks, which are unprecedented in a civilized country like Italy, have not prevented me from moving forward,” added the Federcalcio number one. “Everything has been done to induce me not to run for office. But they do not know me. I have the ability and serenity to go forward with my head held high and my conscience clear. I have committed no crime. I am law-abiding and I am ready to submit to the judgment of Italian justice. However, everything that is happening to me is unheard of. The Perugia Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Gip and the Rome Re-examination Court certify that I have been the victim of illicit dossier activity carried out by characters who have ill will toward me. Despite this, a media trial has been set up that leaves me very perplexed.” “I have been tempted several times to close my experience in the Figc and I had confided this to the heads of the components that have always supported me,” Gravina continued, “But I had a moral commitment with them. A shared path must be completed. I was conflicted, it was not an easy decision, but it was responsible.” On his side are five components except the Serie A League: “I do not underestimate the importance of Serie A. In the month before the filing deadline I will work with the presidents respecting their priorities. I don’t make it a quantitative issue, if I did I would have to say that 82 percent vote for Gravina and 18 don’t know. But I want to share the path with the A League as with everyone else. More than a few people, even influential ones, have expressed consensus about yours truly. But now it is right for them to focus on choosing their governance. The A-League has acquired, thanks to our intervention and not to a state law, extensive autonomy. In my opinion they will talk about the candidacy when they have resolved internal issues.” On Del Piero’s possible candidacy: “Alex was a great champion and gave so much to world soccer and the Azzurri jersey. I tried to involve him in the Federcalcio, but his commitments always took him around the world. But it takes someone to run for office,” Gravina concluded, “And that goes for him as well.”- Photo Ipa Agency -(ITALPRESS).
