Overview
- After proposing reforms to relaunch Italian football on television, Matteo Renzi escalated the feud Saturday by posting a collage that shows Claudio Lotito asleep in the Senate.
- Renzi wrote that Lotito, who is both Lazio’s president and a Forza Italia senator, is “one of the symbols of the failure of the football system” in Italy.
- Lotito first replied that Renzi “doesn’t understand football” and said a senator’s job is to file amendments and help shape laws, which he argued he does with high attendance.
- In a new statement, Lotito cited data that he says prove his record, claiming 94% Senate attendance versus Renzi’s 54% across 7,666 votes and more than 100 votes where Renzi split from his own group.
- The exchange plays out during a broader crisis at Italy’s federation (FIGC) and poor national team results, fueling debate over conflicts of interest when club bosses also hold seats in Parliament.