- Luca Pancalli
Luca Pancalli (born
April 16 1964 inRome ) is a sports manager and former swimmer. He is currently the Commissioner of theItalian Football Federation .After having won a national youth
modern pentathlon championship, Pancalli became aquadriplegic in 1981 following a tumble from a horse during an international race inAustria . Despite this, he was still able to partially move his arms and took part in four different editions of theParalympic Games from 1984 to 1996, winning eight gold, seven silver, and one bronze medal in swimming. [cite web |title=Athlete Search Results |publisher=International Paralympic Committee |date=2008 |url=http://www.paralympic.org/release/Main_Sections_Menu/Sports/Results/paralympics_search.html?sport=all&games=all&medal=all&npc=all&name=pancalli&fname=&gender=all |accessdate=2008-09-06]He was appointed president of the Italian Paralympic Committee in
2000 . He was then appointed vice-president of theItalian Olympic Committee , being the first disabled person to take the job.On
September 21 ,2006 , afterGuido Rossi resigned, Pancalli was appointed Extraordinary Commissioner of the FIGC (Italian Football Federation). OnFebruary 2 ,2007 , following gratuitous violences in theSicilian derby inCatania which led to the killing of a policeman, Pancalli announced his intention to indefinitely suspend all football activities in the country. This is the second time such an event happened, the first time being afterGenoa C.F.C. supporterVincenzo Spagnolo was stabbed by an alleged AC Milanultras member called Simone Barbaglia in1995 .References
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