UEFA president Michel Platini says he does not believe Carlo Tavecchio is racist, although he says the Italian FA (FIGC) president got off lightly with a six-month ban.
Tavecchio, 71, was punished by UEFA for racial remarks he made during his election campaign to become FIGC president. In spite of the racial slur which drew widespread calls for him to withdraw from the running which saw him opposed with Demetrio Albertini, Tavecchio eventually won the election in the third round of voting.
The ban means Tavecchio is "ineligible for any position as a UEFA official for a period of six months starting from the communication of this decision" on Oct. 7, while he accepted his punishment and decided not to appeal.
"His candidacy was determined by Italian football, we did not interfere," Platini told Sky Sport Italia. "He's been suspended by [UEFA's] disciplinary committee for six months, and that's not very much."
Although UEFA condemned his actions, sanctioning a ban, the FIGC swept his comments under the carpet, taking no action against the former president of the Italian Amateur Football Association (LND).
"If Italian football did not deem him a good candidate, they wouldn't have voted for him," continued Platini. "This is democracy. I don't think he's racist anyway. He just made a mistake with his unfortunate remark."
Italian football suffered a blow on Tuesday night as Roma lost 7-1 at home to Bayern Munich -- their heaviest ever home defeat in the competition matching the scoreline by which Manchester United beat them at Old Trafford in 2007.
Speaking before that result, Platini only had praise for the Giallorossi, in particular their French coach Rudi Garcia.
"He's done a great job and I'm proud that there is a Frenchman in charge at Roma," said Platini. "He's got his team playing good football and everybody's delighted with him."
Platini also praised Giallorossi captain Francesco Totti, adding: "He's a footballing genius. Maybe he's the only of his kind, who has stayed his entire career with just one club."