There's a big row brewing in Italian rugby. The playing staff are not happy with the suits in the federation, and the board members are not pleased with the actions of the players.
The extraordinary row started when the Italian rugby federation (FIR) president Alfredo Gavazzi labelled the Italian players as "pensioners". Italy slumped to their worst world ranking of 15th after this year's Six Nations, which no longer sees them in the top six countries in Europe after Georgia surpassed them into 14th.
Italy did finish 5th, after a remarkable victory over Scotland, but defeats with margins of 23, 30, 29 and 41 points in their other four games as well as recording only four wins in their last 23 games points to a grim picture.
Gavazzi went on to say that he will be looking to change the payment structure from a guaranteed €6,500 each game to only getting paid should they win the match.
Needless to say that the Italian players were unhappy with Gavazzi's comments, with the squad tweeting out Gavazzi's outburst with the hashtag #PortaCiRespetto (Give Us Respect)
“Dei pensionati sono stanco, al 15° posto del ranking non ci sono andato io» #portacirispetto
— sergio parisse (@sergioparisse) April 14, 2015
Photo Credit Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
[Planet Rugby]
