FIGC rocked by Tavecchio suspension and Albertini resignation

Carlo Tavecchio may have been elected as the president of the FIGC, but thanks to some shockingly racist comments he made during the runup to the election, it wasn't nearly a unanimous election as many clubs pulled their support, along with the associations that represent the coaches, players, and referees.

Now things have gotten even more complicated as UEFA have come down hard on Tavecchio. According to a new release from Europe's governing body for the sport, Tavecchio has been banned from all UEFA-related activities for the next six months, meaning he can't act for Italy and the FIGC in any official capacity during that time. That includes the upcoming UEFA Congress session in March, which will greatly limit Italy's ability to participate in a very important meeting that determines changes in rules and policies.

UEFA is also going to force Tavecchio to organize an event in Italy "aimed at increasing awareness and compliance with the principles of UEFA’s Resolution entitled European Football united against racism." There's also a strong hint in there that if the event is deemed unsatisfactory, Tavecchio's suspension will be lengthened.

Further complicating matters is that Demetrio Albertini, who had retained his position as FIGC Vice-President after losing the election to Tavecchio, resigned his position two days ago. That leaves the FIGC without it's two top officials for the foreseeable future, which will make doing much in the way of governance difficult for awhile.

There have already been numerous calls for Tavecchio to resign since the suspension was announced several hours ago. That's prompted Lazio president Claudio Lotito to say that the entire situation was "mystifying" and that calls for Tavecchio's resignation were "blatant attempts to misuse the issue".

There's been speculation in the media that Lotito, long Tavecchio's most vocal backer, has been acting as the power behind the throne, as it were, and he's frequently dismissed accusations levied at Tavecchio out of hand. At one point he even went so far as to say that Tavecchio didn't even say the racist statement he made in his speech, despite it being made in public and was recorded by a multitude of sources.

Perhaps the best thing for the FIGC would be for Tavecchio to resign and just have everyone move on, but we all know Italian football isn't getting out of this mess that easily. This is going to get ugly, and will probably get even uglier before it gets better.