Italy's huge financial loss and shouts at the referee

A national disaster. That would be most accurate state of affairs in Italy a day after underdogs Bosnia and Hercegovina eliminated the four-time world champions and left them at home for the third straight time. The Italian press and the public are outraged and three topics are circulating in the media: statements from the Italy Football Federation president, the financial loss and the referee’s decision during the game. Gabriele Gravina is the president of the federation since 2018 and this is his second failure to take his coutry to the World Cup. Calls for his resignation are more than justful and logical, but he refused to back down, asked coach Gennaro Gattuso to stay and had time to insult all other Italian sports!

Mamma Mia, here we go again! Italy out of the World Cup for the third straight time!

"I understand the call for resignations, an exercise I've become particularly accustomed to lately, but the decisions are rightfully up to the Federal Council. Football is a professional sport, while all the others are amateur. Those are state-funded sports where athletes are essentially public employees—they receive all possible support, and it’s easier to succeed that way. We are in a crisis, but politics should also question itself, not just rush to demand my resignation. We wanted to give our fans joy, and I want to compliment Rino Gattuso. He is a great coach, I asked him to remain along with Gigi Buffon, in charge of this team” he said.

Than there is the financial disaster. By not qualifying, Italy will lose around 30 million euros, not a small amount. According to the Gazzetta Dello Sport, the cost of this fiasco includes lost bonuses and revenue from merchandising and sponsorships that could have been generated by a presence in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The federal council had approved the 2026 budget without factoring in the potential benefits of participating in the World Cup. However, it had projected a deficit of 6.6 million euros, which the organization hoped to offset with participation at the World Cup. Elimination will trigger penalties stipulated in contractual clauses with sponsors. The automatic reduction in payments in the event of non-qualification represents a loss of 9.5 million euros.

Apart from a poor display of their footballers and several missed chances even with 10 men, the Italians are also pointing fingers at French referee Clement Turpin. Several controversial decisions were seen last night in Zenica, but the one that stands out the most came in the 79th minute, when Haris Tabaković equalized to make it 1–1 and send the match into extra time. The goal itself isn’t disputed—the Borussia Monchengladbach striker did everything by the book—but the way the ball reached him is questionable. That’s why Italian media are directing criticism at Turpin. A slow-motion footage appears to show Edin Džeko handling the ball before falling to the ground after a duel with Gianluca Mancini. At first glance, it looked like a foul—something that can also be debated—but later the focus shifted to whether the ball struck a part of the body Džeko is not allowed to use. The Italians are also angry with Turpin as he gave a red card to Bastoni, but failed to do the same to Bosnia’s Muharemovic.