Serie A put under emergency leadership after failed election

MILAN (AP) — Serie A has been put under emergency leadership again after the Italian league’s 20 clubs failed to elect a new president.

No candidate received the necessary 14 votes, meaning that Mario Cicala — the head of the Italian soccer federation’s watchdog committee — will take over as emergency commissioner on Tuesday.

The failed election comes amid a Serie A season marred by multiple cases of racist chants and with the league divided over the assignment of TV rights.

Gaetano Miccichè resigned as president last month following an investigation into his election last year.

Miccichè, the president of Banca IMI investment bank, was chosen unanimously in March 2018 by the league’s 20 clubs. But the Italian soccer federation opened an investigation in October after Genoa owner Enrico Preziosi said there were irregularities with how Miccichè was elected.

Lega Serie A, which runs the top Italian league, had been without a president for almost year before Miccichè was elected, with Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malago acting as emergency commissioner.

Cicala will now be charged with finding a suitable successor to Miccichè.