Yahoo Finance Italian soccer team president resigns after police find bag filled with $240K of cash in his car
The president of a third-tier Italian soccer club has resigned after police searched his car and found a bag filled with $240,000 of cash.
According to Gazetta, Novara president Marcello Cianci was unable to explain to financial police where he got the money.
Per the report, a financial group asked the Reggio Calabria police to stop an SUV that Cianci was in. Cianci had “inexplicable nervousness” and that led to police searching his car and finding the food bag filled with €200,000.
Cianci then resigned from his position with Novara after the incident. He had been with the club since 2019 and the team said in its statement announcing his resignation that it didn’t have anything to do with the money that was found in his car. Italian soccer has long been plagued by financial scandals and mismanagement.
“The Novara Calcio company announces that it has received from Mr. Marcello Cianci his resignation from the office of President and CEO of the Company, for personal and professional commitments,” the club said in a statement.
“The Members will soon convene a Board of Directors to elect the new appointments. In the face of the news that are circulating in these hours and which see the same involved, the Novara Calcio company declares itself totally unrelated to the facts, which concern strictly personal events and not related to his work within the Club.”
Novara is currently 15th in Group A of Italy’s Serie C division and has just 23 points to the top team’s 46. The third tier of Italian soccer is comprised of 60 teams divided among three groups.
More from Yahoo Sports: