Carlo Tavecchio elected president of the Italian Federation: "What a shame," says Patrick Vieira

"I can't believe [Carlo Tavecchio] will represent the Italian football authorities. What a shame," said former French international Patrick Vieira on 12/08/2014, the day after Tavecchio was elected (on 11/08/2014) to succeed Giancarlo Abete as president of the FIGC (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio, the Italian federation) in Rome (ITA).

Tavecchio, 71, had compared African players to "banana-eaters" during a speech to the assembly of the Italian Amateur Football League, of which he was the president, on 25/07/2014.

"For me, that shows how far away the Italian football authorities are from dealing with discrimination," said Patrick Vieira on his Twitter account. "63.63% of those that voted [Tavecchio's percentage in the third round of voting] are admitting that they aren't fighting against racism, or that they don't want to fight these problem."

"If he was an Englishman making this kind of comment, politically, he would be completely out," said Vieira, who manages Manchester City's U21 team. "This decision was made in football, but I think it is bigger than football. It should…