Marcello Lippi has blasted the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) after he was prevented from becoming Italy's technical director.
The former Azzurri coach was set to assume the role as part of a rebuilding process initiated by FIGC president Carlo Tavecchio, who has already overseen the appointment of head coach Giampiero Ventura.
But Lippi's hopes were dashed by the governing body's own rules, which dictate that his son Davide being an agent represented a conflict of interest for the 68-year-old.
"I had already signed a pre-contract, we were just waiting for Giampiero Ventura's appointment to be made official," Lippi told La Domenica Sportiva.
"I'd been working for a couple of months and I'd spoken with the various candidates to the Azzurri bench, such as Vincenzo Montella.
"On the day of Ventura's presentation, the president and director general of the FIGC informed me that a rule on football agents had been modified one and a half years ago.
"A regulation was created to prevent an agent from working if he has any relatives within the federation. It's completely bonkers.
"They told me they were going to modify that rule, but I didn't want them to. I won't have any rules made to favour me."
Lippi had two spells in charge of his country, guiding them to 2006 World Cup glory.
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