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Racism ruling coming for Italian soccer president

ROME (AP) — UEFA President Michel Platini has promised a ruling from the organization’s disciplinary body over an alleged racist comment by the Italian football federation’s new leader.

Carlo Tavecchio, a long-standing executive in Italian football, was elected president last month despite causing a stir over a reference to bananas when discussing the presence of foreign players in Italy.

While the Italian federation’s internal prosecutor dropped his inquiry over the comment, UEFA is expected to issue a ruling in the coming days.

Opening UEFA’s Respect and Diversity conference, Platini says that while he would not revisit Tavecchio’s comment, “the disciplinary body at UEFA will hand down a decision based on its (anti-racism) rules.”

Tavecchio, who says he is not racist, was a conspicuous absence from the conference, even though his federation hosted it.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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