Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 9y

Government should intervene after Claudio Lotito claims - Beppe Marotta

Juventus general manager Beppe Marotta has called on the Italian government to shake up the power structure of Italian football.

His comments came after Lazio president Claudio Lotito claimed the presidents of the Lega Serie A and Serie B do not do any work and called Serie B chief Andrea Abodi "a cretin."

Pino Iodice, the sporting director of third-tier side Ischia, recorded a telephone conversation with Lotito in which the Lazio president made his remarks.

Lotito also said that if clubs such as Carpi, Frosinone or Latina were promoted to Serie A, TV companies would refuse to pay for the rights because they would no longer be attractive enough.

The Lazio president, who is Italian FA (FIGC) president Carlo Tavecchio's right-hand man and an advisor to the Lega Serie A, has been widely condemned for his words but is unlikely to face any consequences.

And that has sparked an angry response from Marotta, who told Sky Sport Italia: "Juve only get one vote in the [Italian football] assembly, and we have got to accept democracy.

"But it seems like we've fallen back into medieval times, or more precisely into times of feudalism. We do not share these values, and I think that says it all.

"I think a change from within is impossible, which is why maybe something has to be done externally by the government."

He said he believed "the scenario in which respect for people no longer exists" concerned him.

"We are worried, and we said it already in September, about too much power being placed in the hands of one single person -- I'm referring to Lotito," he added. "It's dangerous.

"To say [Lega Serie A president Maurizio] Beretta doesn't count for anything and that Abodi is a cretin is something very damaging to come from an FA advisor. We do not agree with this way of doing things."

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