Pirlo out of Italy football top job after backlash over Russian betting firm links

Andrea Pirlo has said he is no longer a candidate to coach the Italian national side following days of controversy over his ties to a Russian betting company.His appointment as Italy's next head coach had not been confirmed by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) yet was being treated as all but certain.But over the weekend several Italian politicians criticised the FIGC's choice, noting that Pirlo, 47, had taken up a role as global ambassador for Russia's Fonbet last October.The betting company has sponsored several sporting events involving veterans of Moscow's war in Ukraine and has organised events in Russia at which Pirlo appeared alongside pro-Kremlin figures. "Anyone who is or has been promoting Russia after 2022 should not hold national office," said Carlo Calenda of the centrist Azione party. "After learning last night that I am no longer a candidate for the Italian national team, I feel it is my duty to clarify some aspects," Pirlo, a former Internazionale, Juventus, AC Milan and Azzurri midfielder, wrote in an Instagram post on Monday morning."Over the last few days I watched, with great bitterness, the debate that swirled around my name," he said, adding that any "pro...