CONI President Luciano Buonfiglio says a decision on whether to place the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) under a special commissioner will be made on 6 October, with Giovanni Malago expected to lose his position as president.
Malago’s landslide victory in the FIGC election in June 2026 is expected to be declared invalid because he did not have the paperwork required to stand.
The issue stems from Malago’s previous role as President of the CONI (Italian Olympic Committee). At the time of the election, he was not a registered member of the FIGC.
“ This morning, we began the process for the committee that will be held on October 6, and it will be followed by the national council session,” Buonfiglio said.
“We are well prepared to not leave any room for interpretation. We’ll send the four opinions from our judges to the Presidents of the various Federations and all the members of the committee.
“We will make sure that the committee cannot assume personalist attitudes by going outside of the area we must decide on.”
Buonfiglio said the committee had a clear responsibility to reach a firm decision.
“We are called to make a decision, without ifs or buts,” he added.
“As a public official, it is my duty to document that these four opinions are rock solid. I will send out the written opinions in good time so nobody can say they were uninformed.
“I have no doubts on the sense of responsibility and belonging to the sporting world. It is necessary that we restore ethics and the respect of the rules, because we talk about these values, but when push comes to shove, we lack the courage and consistency to apply them.”
The FIGC is therefore expected to be placed under special administration after 6 October. The timing was chosen to avoid removing the federation president during the Nations League break.
The change will not affect the work of Italy coach Roberto Mancini. However, reforms Malago had been overseeing are likely to be paused or abandoned.
A new FIGC election will be organised. Malago could obtain FIGC membership without particular difficulty, but he may not retain the support of every Serie A club that backed him in June.
The dispute centres on a technicality that did not appear to concern those who voted in the election. It could have been resolved either by changing the rule to permit Malago’s candidacy or by formally recognising that the rule was irrelevant at the time.
Minister for Sport Andrea Abodi is officially required to remain outside the process to avoid political interference, although the divide between Abodi and Malago is described as evident.
The situation has drawn strong criticism, with one comparison invoking Henry Hill’s description of an internal dispute: “It was among the Italians. It was real greaseball st.”
