Intro:

Italian Football Federation president Carlo Tavecchio was handed a six-month ban by UEFA on Tuesday (7 Octover) over alleged racist comments made by him during his election campaign.

Script:

SOUNDBITE (Italian) Carlo Tavecchio, President of the Italian Football Federation:

"Let's write down the things we are going to do, and we will do them together. And then we will judge what we will have achieved. In order to not give too much space to words, with which as I have always said I am not at ease with, I would like to conclude by saying that the reforms of our system can be done only together."

SOUNDBITE: (Italian) Carlo Tavecchio, President of the Italian Football Federation:

"We made the economic necessities match with the requirement of getting the best coach. This is an investment for the Federation, and we support it only partially (the rest is paid by the sponsors). Conte has commercial appeal as well, and the fact that he is an Italian is also relevant to us."