After a month, Serie A has found their new president in Lorenzo Casini. He succeeds Paolo Dal Pino, who stepped down at the beginning of February for personal reasons. He was also facing increasing opposition within the body. The new head received 11 votes, the minimum quota to prevail, out of 20 teams.
The 46-year-old attorney has limited experience in sports and is an administrative law professor at the IMT School in Lucca, in Tuscany. He has been the chief of staff at the Ministry of Culture since 2019. He previously assisted constitutional judge Sabino Cassese. Moreover, he is a member of the Italian Olympic Committee’s guarantee college.
Casini was backed to become Serie A president primarily by Lazio and Napoli presidents Claudio Lotito and Aurelio De Laurentiis, Tuttomercatoweb informs. Fiorentina, Atalanta, Verona, Empoli, Udinese and Sampdoria are also believed to have voted for him, among others. The top clubs, especially Milan and Inter, directly tried to contrast him. The latest candidate of the rival faction was Andrea Abodi. The executive previously chaired Serie B and is now helming the public bank Credito Sportivo.
The small majority of the sides ultimately decided to pick a person involved with politics. They feel the government neglected them, especially during the pandemic. Casini stated in an interview a few days ago: “My allegiance does not lie with a single person, but rather with the state and its institutions.” After burning through names, the League found enough support to prevent the Football Association from swooping in and naming a commissioner.