As we reported on Cyclingquotes last Tuesday, former Giro d’Italia race director Michele Acquarone has been fired by the RCS Sport, alongside CEO Giacomo Catano and External Relations manager Matteo Pastore, under the suspicion of their possible involvement in the misappropriation of 13 million Euro.  

Acquarone, who took over the position in 2010, was prized by both fans and riders as the Giro d’Italia director, while he was the main figure responsible for the visible transformation of the Italian Grand Tour into a modern and lively international spectacle. Although he remained confident during the period of his suspension that he would return to his job, information about his dismissal became official this week after a lengthy internal investigation. As a result, earlier this week it was announced that Italian magistrates in Milan have opened an investigation into an alleged misappropriation of close to 10 million Euro and RCS Sport dismissed Acquarone and RCS Sport CEO Giacomo Catano.

Speaking for the first time after information about his dismissal became official, former Giro d’Italia race director specifies he was never under the investigation and he hasn’t been informed about the actions taken by the RCS Sport during the period of his suspension. Acquarone does not hide his resentment, while he still claims to be innocent and hopes to rebuild his professional career after 14 years spent in RCS.

"I'm here because I need to get rid of the mud that has been thrown at me. I've not been able to speak because I was an employee of RCS. Today I need to say what I feel, to shout that I'm totally extraneous to what has happened," Acquarone said after reading a statement.

"I'm not under investigation but I can't see a single reason why I should be."

"I've never taken one Euro more than my salary. That'll be the most difficult thing to convince people. I was in the headlines, on the BBC and in the Washington Post. I hope I'll have the same headlines when I'm cleared. I want to prove my dignity to be 100% restored."

"I was suspended and to be honest initially I wasn't worried. Everything seemed perfect when I came back from my holidays in September and we were ready to start working on the new season of events. After I was suspended, as the days passed I was hoping that things would be clarified. That didn’t happen until I was accused and then fired, with RCS saying "that I could have and should have stopped certain irregularities happening," he explained.

"I asked RCS to explain how I should and could have done that and asked for the reasons for me being fired. They replied that my request was an excuse and shouldn't have been made."

"People think I've fooled myself about being cleared but I'd hoped to go back to work right to the end. To find myself out of RCS Sport is devastating and feel I've been stabbed in the back three times."

"I've spent a long time thinking about my tomorrow. I'm 42. I've run a marathon in the past and now I've got to run another and start from scratch," he said.