Italy Refused to Vote in the Ballon D’Or After Gianluigi Buffon Was Omitted From List

As we told you earlier this evening, some of the voting in this year’s Ballon d’Or awards was very odd indeed, but there was one country who went one step further and didn’t take part in the vote at all.

Every FIFA member country is entitled to one vote for each of their national team manager, their national team captain and a member of their country’s media, but Italy boycotted the process in support of goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

The Juventus goalie was snubbed by FIFA when they announced their chosen 50 players who would compete for the Ballon d’Or, despite paying a key part in his club reaching the Champions League final, and winning a league and cup double.

Coincidentally, Buffon is Italy’s national team captain, so in the end, neither he nor his manager Antonio Conte registered a vote, at the behest of the Italian FA, according to Football Italia.

The country’s media representative Paolo Condo – a journalist for Gazzetta dello Sport – did cast his ballot for the prize, choosing Messi, Neymar and Robert Lewandowski.

What do you think of Italy’s stance?

Let us know in the comments section below…