Lazio president Claudio Lotito launches Senate petition for FIGC chief Gravina to resign
Quick summary
Lazio president Claudio Lotito has started a petition in the Italian Senate calling for FIGC president Gabriele Gravina to resign after Italy’s World Cup playoff elimination to Bosnia on penalties. The move adds political pressure ahead of an emergency FIGC meeting in Rome.
Full article
Attributed to original sourceClaudio Lotito has taken the remarkable step of launching a petition in the Italian Senate calling for FIGC president Gabriele Gravina to resign, in the fallout from Italy’s devastating World Cup playoff final defeat to Bosnia on penalties.
According to TuttoMercatoWeb , the Lazio president and Forza Italia senator is using his political platform to pile pressure on Gravina, who has so far given no indication that he intends to step down despite overseeing a third consecutive failure to qualify for the World Cup.
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Italy drew 1-1 after 90 minutes in Zenica, with Alessandro Bastoni’s red card in the first half leaving the Azzurri with ten men for the vast majority of the match. No goals in extra time saw the tie go to penalties, where Italy were ultimately eliminated.
ZENICA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – MARCH 31: (L-R) President of CONI Luciano Buonfiglio, President of FIGC Gabriele Gravina and UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin look on prior the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers KO play-offs match between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy at Stadion Bilino Polje on March 31, 2026 in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images) Gravina days numbered as FIGC chief resists for now The political pressure on Gravina is now considerable.
The Sports Minister has already publicly called on him to resign, and the FIGC president has convened an emergency meeting for tomorrow afternoon in Rome, bringing together representatives from Serie A, Serie B, Serie C, the amateur leagues, coaches’ and players’ associations, to assess the situation ahead of a full Federal Council meeting next week.
The mood outside FIGC headquarters has turned hostile, with protesters pelting the building with eggs following last night’s result.
Gravina, who was re-elected unopposed relatively recently despite the previous two World Cup absences, faces the biggest crisis of his tenure, and with Lotito now mobilising political opposition from within the Senate itself, the calls for his departure are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
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What happened
Claudio Lotito, who is both Lazio president and a senator for Forza Italia, is using his political role to push for Gabriele Gravina’s resignation as FIGC president. The pressure follows Italy’s latest failure to qualify for the World Cup, sealed by a playoff defeat to Bosnia after a 1-1 draw and a penalty shootout loss. The article says Gravina has not indicated he will step down despite growing criticism and public protests outside FIGC headquarters. An emergency meeting has been called with league and football stakeholders before a full Federal Council meeting next week.
Chance analysis
This is governance-driven football news rather than direct squad news, but it matters because federation instability often leads to managerial review, strategic resets, and wider uncertainty around the national team setup. The immediate football implication is more institutional pressure on Italian football after a major competitive failure, not a direct short-term change to Lazio on the pitch.
The likely effect is increased instability around the Italy setup and FIGC leadership, with only indirect impact on club football.
Treat this as negative federation-level pressure on Italy rather than actionable lineup or injury news, with relevance mainly if it triggers managerial or structural changes.