MILAN – UEFA president Alexander Ceferin on Friday expressed his “full support” for Italian football boss Gabriele Gravina, who is being investigated by Rome prosecutors on suspicion of embezzlement and money laundering.
Gravina, who is also vice president of UEFA and president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), is accused of illegally using funds obtained from a television rights auction in 2018 when he was manager of Italy's third division to buy a house in Italy. There is. Milan. He is also said to have used a television rights contract to set up a private sale of his rare collection of medieval books, but the sale reportedly never went through.
The 70-year-old denies any wrongdoing, and his lawyers on Wednesday handed over a trove of documents to prosecutors that purport to prove the money for the home came from other sources.
“I absolutely trust that he will explain everything,” Ceferin told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday. “He has my full support. The problem is that the damage has already been done, but unfortunately we live in really terrible times.
“I support Gabriele personally. I know him well and consider him an honest and respectable person and a great football coach.”
Mr. Gravina was elected FIGC Chairman in 2018. He led Lega Pro, the Serie C team, from 2005 to 2018. He was elected to the UEFA Executive Committee in April 2021 and voted vice-president two years later.