Lega Serie A, Simonelli's election formalized: no doubt about his eligibility

“The Assembly of the National Professional League Lega Serie A, meeting on 20 December 2024, elected Ezio Maria Simonelli President.” With this press release, the Lega Serie A definitively closes the issue linked to the election of the new number one.

In fact, yesterday Claudio Lotito and the companies close to him had raised doubts about Simonelli's eligibility regarding the verification of the candidacy requirements of the accountant who had renounced positions that could be at risk of conflict of interest so much so that yesterday's press release read “in the next few days the independence requirements established by the Statute will be verified”. Everything was therefore resolved with the regent Percassi who signed the green light for the election of the new president.

Who is Simonelli. Born in the Marche region of Macerata, born in 1958, Simonelli is a prestigious accountant, as well as being a freelance journalist. Silvio Berlusconi's historic accountant, proposed by Adriano Galliani, Simonelli is managing partner of Simonelli Associati, a tax law firm based in Milan. Until the election, Simonelli was president of the Board of Statutory Auditors of Sisal Group SpA and Mediaset Italia SpA, roles Dale also resigned to avoid issues related to his possible ineligibility. He is a teacher as well as a member of the scientific committee of the Master of Tax Law and Practice of il Sole 24 Ore. Author of numerous articles and publications, he has edited the “tax current affairs” column of the Chartered Accountants magazine since 2004. Additionally, he was a Partner and subsequently Of Counsel to the tax practice of Ernst & Young. Honorary Consul of Canada in Italy.

Precedents in football. This is not Simonelli's first role in Italian football: in 2013 and then again in 2021 he was a candidate for the presidency of Lega Serie A and then for Serie A, overtaken by Maurizio Beretta on the first occasion and by Mauro Balata on the second. In 2017 he held the position of regent of Serie A after Beretta's departure.