ROME (AP) — Andrea Pirlo is no longer in line to coach crisis-hit Italy due to political concerns over a sponsorship deal with a Russian betting firm.
Pirlo himself confirmed that he was out in an Instagram post Monday, saying he “heard last night that I’m no longer the candidate for the Italy national team job.”
Several Italian politicians had raised concerns about Pirlo’s contract to be an ambassador for Fonbet, saying the national team coach should not have conflicting views on Italy’s support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.
Pirlo, who had been prepared to leave his current job as coach of Dubai United, was an unpopular choice after unsuccessful stints coaching Juventus and Sampdoria.
Pirlo said the Fonbet deal was linked to his job in the United Arab Emirates and is “exclusively for commercial and sports” purposes.
“Attributing a political significance to that collaboration means attributing beliefs to me that I have never expressed and don't belong to me,” Pirlo added.
Pirlo was at best a third choice after Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola turned down offers to coach a team that has failed to qualify for three consecutive World Cups.
Now former Italy coaches Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte are back being discussed for the job.
Gennaro Gattuso left as Italy’s coach by mutual consent in April after Italy was beaten by Bosnia and Herzegovina in a World Cup qualifying playoff.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Juventus' head coach Andrea Pirlo stands on the pitch during warmup before the Champions League round of 16, first leg, soccer match between FC Porto and Juventus in Porto, Portugal, on Feb. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Luis Vieira, File)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will deliver his annual state of the nation speech Monday with a bleak backdrop of a major corruption scandal that he exposed last year but has implicated his key allies; his estranged vice president’s impeachment trial; and the global economic fallout from a resurgent war in Iran.
More than 23,000 police were deployed to secure the House of Representatives in suburban Quezon city, where Marcos will deliver his penultimate annual address before his six-year term ends in mid-2028. Key roads to the presidential palace in Manila were barricaded with barbed wire and riot police to deter protesters.
Security concerns were heightened after a small homemade bomb exploded before dawn on Monday near the gate of the Department of Justice in Manila, causing no injuries or major damage. Separately, bomb parts were found near the Senate in suburban Pasay city which had not been assembled and apparently aimed “only to sow terror or fear,” national police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez jr. told reporters.
Marcos is expected to outline in his speech new programs to mitigate the impact of the renewed hostilities in the Middle East. He declared a yearlong national energy emergency in March as the war in the Middle East raged to ensure the adequate supply of fuel, food and agricultural products and prevent hoarding.
In last year's state-of-the-nation speech, Marcos railed against widespread corruption in flood-control projects as the Philippines struggled to recover from deadly flooding and landslides that killed dozens of villagers and displaced more than 200,000.
Separate government and congressional investigations that followed implicated dozens of House and Senate members along with government public works engineers and officials, who allegedly pocketed huge kickbacks from flood-control projects. Their lavish lifestyles, including fleets of private jets and European cars, sparked public outrage and protests.
A current and a former member of the 24-member Senate have been indicted and detained for largescale corruption in connection with the anomalies. A leading suspect and former House member fled to Europe. Former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, who served under Marcos, has denied any wrongdoing but has also been indicted in connection with the anomalies and is in hospital detention.
Many, however, have clamored for more influential legislators to be rapidly prosecuted. Critics have asked why one of the leading suspects, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez — the president’s cousin and key ally who denies any wrongdoing — had not been charged. Marcos has pledged that even his allies will be locked up in jail if there is evidence.
“We have done enough because we’re not done yet,” Marcos said. “Unfortunately, the more we look, the more we find.”
The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, his former ally, for charges that includes corruption and threatening the president, is also underway.
Protesters carry an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during a protest march in Quezon City, Philippines Monday, July 27, 2026, ahead of the State of the Nation Address by President Marcos Jr. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
Police personnel line up and secure a road near a protest march in Quezon City, Philippines Monday, July 27, 2026, ahead of the State of the Nation Address by President Marcos Jr. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
A protester destroys an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump during a protest march in Quezon City, Philippines Monday, July 27, 2026, ahead of the State of the Nation Address by President Marcos Jr. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
