Soccer-Tavecchio re-elected as Italian federation president

Carlo Tavecchio was re-elected as president of the Italian football federation (FIGC) on Monday after telling delegates he had restored order and credibility.

The 73-year-old fought off a challenge from Andrea Abodi, the head of Italy's Serie B second-tier league, to win in the third round of voting with 54.03 percent of the votes, the FIGC said.

Tavecchio was first elected in August 2014 to replace Giancarlo Abete, who had resigned immediately after Italy were knocked out in the first round of the World Cup in Brazil.

"The national teams have improved along with our credibility at international level," he said before the vote. "We have efficient organisation and our accounts are in order."

During the 2014 campaign, Tavecchio caused an outcry when he made a comment about a fictitious African player he named Opti Poba "eating bananas".

He was subsequently banned from holding any position with world governing body FIFA for six months while European body UEFA imposed a similar sanction. The FIGC, however, cleared him of any wrongdoing.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)