Overview
- Italy, which lost Tuesday on penalties to Bosnia in Zenica after Alessandro Bastoni’s red card, will miss a third straight World Cup.
- Sports Minister Andrea Abodi called for a refoundation of Italian football starting with new FIGC leaders, and lawmakers requested a parliamentary briefing on the failure.
- FIGC president Gabriele Gravina said accountability would be assessed at a Federal Council meeting next week and confirmed he asked coach Rino Gattuso to stay for now.
- Gattuso apologized to the country and left his future open, while team delegate Gianluigi Buffon said he will serve through June before reassessing his role.
- Public pressure grew as club owners pushed structural changes and Olympic champions blasted standards, while betting markets shortened odds on exits for Gattuso and Gravina.