The dense web of grievances, unexpected press conferences, strikes and bargaining that is upsetting oval Italy is not recent history dating back to the beginning of the week. On the contrary, the genesis of the clash between the Federation and the national team players dates back to mid-April, when all the Azzurri launched the hashtag on Twitter and Facebook #bring us respect, following a press conference by FIR President Gavazzi in which the foundations of the chaos that broke out last Monday were outlined. On that occasion, in fact, the number one of the Italian oval had proposed the desire to eliminate the compensation (called "attendance fee") due to the player who is included in the match sheet for a match with the national team, according to the logic of the prize merit following the achievement of a set goal. The reference was obviously to the English World Cup which will start in less than 100 days, when the goal for Parisse and his companions will, as always, be that of overcoming the group stage.
As confirmation of the fact that since that day a close negotiation has been underway between the players' union, the GIRA, and the Federation, the case broke out last Monday. The players have left the meeting in Villabassa following an agreement not reached with President Gavazzi. Mistake.
What happened instead is that the players chose not to wear the FIR material during the rally in protest against the Federation. This promptly canceled the reservation in the hotel where the Azzurri were staying, forcing them to abandon the meeting or to pay for the stay out of his own pocket. Furthermore, the FIR exhibited a official announcement in which he reversed the course of events, making the nationals pass for deserters from the blue shirt. Obviously the GIRA denial statement was not long in coming, but the bomb had already exploded.
The news was picked up by non-specialist newspapers, which however dealt with it - in many cases - based only on the FIR press release. The reality is much more complex and to give an even better idea of the situation Italian rugby is experiencing these days – which are actually weeks – it is useful to highlight a significant event. The Stade Francais of which Sergio Parisse is captain, a few days ago he won the prestigious French championship being honored by President Holland, who gave him the Italian tricolor with which he did the lap of honor in the Parco dei Principi. Congratulations and ovations from all over the world of rugby, except that of the Italian Federation. Not a phone call from Gavazzi to the blue and Parisian captain. One less piece of the Italian rugby puzzle, where the rift between leadership and militancy seems increasingly difficult to heal. In a post on Parisse's official page that appeared last night, the captain recalls how disappointed he was at such a lack of Gavazzi, even in a climate like the one that has arisen, recalling that "we are not mercenaries, but professionals".
From April to today, the Federation has been able to trace the details of the hypothesis outlined by Gavazzi, establishing the number of prizes and tokens. Skipping a few steps, in the last formula that came to know, after some negotiations between the FIR and the GIRA, the figures at stake would be these: €3.000 for the three months of pre-World Cup summer camp, €8.000 for hypothetical victories against Canada and Romania (each), €12.000 for a defeat by France and €16.000 for a defeat against Ireland. A guaranteed salary for these World Cups of €19.000 per player – adding up the starting fee plus probable victories against Canada and Romania. Furthermore, the sum of these figures would be due to the Azzurri in the event of the next round regardless of which games they win or lose. This proposal was taken into consideration by the players, who however requested a guaranteed package of €29.000, which then dropped to €25.000. Gavazzi, however, made it known that he cannot accept to go higher than the figure already put on the table, because the ratio of his politics would be lost. In fact, he stated that "if the players had asked me for more money for any victories against the two seeds and for the passage of the round, I would have been happy to accept, because it would have meant that the players would have shared the choice of meritocracy . Raising the guaranteed is nothing more than continuing on the path of attendance fees”.
The latest news speaks of a closer agreement, even if there is still no official resolution of the matter. Indiscretions tell of unchanged win bonuses and growing guaranteed packages, therefore greater burdens for the Federation in the face of maintaining - at least in part - the meritocratic logic. In reality, many more items are involved in the negotiations besides prizes and tokens, such as the image rights of the players, but the debate revolves entirely around money, to the detriment of the image of the myth of the pure rugby player who plays only for passion and favor of the icon of the mercenary promoted by the general staff of the FIR.
