ANDREA PIRLO announced yesterday he is no longer in contention to become Italy head coach following criticism of his commercial links with a Russian betting company.

The former Azzurri midfielder, 47, had emerged as the leading candidate to succeed Gennaro Gattuso after Pep Guardiola declined the job.

However, his role as a global ambassador for Russian bookmaker Fonbet prompted objections to his potential appointment from some Italian Football Federation officials and politicians due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Pirlo, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, defended his involvement with the company in an Instagram ⁠post.

“After learning last night that I am no longer the candidate to lead the Italian national team, I believe it is my duty to clarify a few points,” he wrote.

“In the last few days I have witnessed with great bitterness the debate that has developed around my name and the possibility of taking over the role of head coach of the Italian national team.

“During my career, first as a football player and now as a coach, I have always carried out my activity in full respect to the laws of the countries I worked in and the contracts I signed.”

Pirlo is currently managing UAE Pro League club United FC in Dubai.

He signed an ambassadorial agreement with Fonbet in October and said the collaboration was exclusively commercial and sporting in nature.