Rabat – Andrea Pirlo’s appointment as the new Italian national team head coach has been called off due to his association with a Russian betting brand.
The 2006 FIFA World Cup winner with Italy was highly expected to take charge of the team after reports emerged that an agreement had been reached.
The Italian football federation president, Giovanni Malagò, decided not to proceed with the signatures.
In October 2025, while serving as head coach of Dubai’s FC United, Pirlo was named a global brand ambassador for Fonbet, one of Russia’s largest sports betting companies.
“I have always carried out my work in full respect of the laws of the countries where I have worked and of the contracts I have signed. The professional collaboration that has been the subject of recent controversy arose during my time in the United Arab Emirates and is exclusively of a commercial and sporting nature,” wrote Pirlo on social networks.
Pirlo’s role as a Fonbet ambassador drew criticism from many Italian politicians, who argued that the national team coach should avoid any ties that could be viewed as at odds with Italy’s position in support of Ukraine during the war with Russia.
“To attribute a political meaning to this collaboration means attributing to me convictions that I have never expressed and that do not belong to me,” said Pirlo. “I regret that a sporting decision was so quickly dragged into a public debate that ended up attributing meanings and intentions to me that do not represent me,” he added.
“My love for Italy does not depend on a job; it is part of my story, of my identity, and it will continue to be with me always,” concluded Andrea Pirlo.
Italy moved for Andrea Pirlo after both Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola refused to take charge of the Italian national team.
Former Italy coaches Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte are now being discussed for the job.
