AS Rom and Italy great Francesco
Totti arrived in Moscow Monday where he plans to participate
Tuesday in a promotional event for Bookmaker Ratings, the main
Russian portal dedicated to sports and sports betting - a visit
that has spurred some controversy at home.
A video of the former Roma captain's arrival at the airport was
posted on the organizers' Instagram profile.
During the event, Totti will be awarded the RB Award, previously
awarded to Brazilian Cafu and Portuguese Figo, among others.
In recent weeks, several billboards have appeared in the Russian
capital with a photograph of Totti and the words "The Emperor
goes to the Third Rome", i.e. Moscow.
The retired AS Roma legend and former Italy forward said last
month "I'm going to Moscow as a man of sport" but added that "if
a competent body asks me, I will decline".
Reports that Totti will be the guest of honour at the
International RB Award had caused a stir, with some fans and
politicians criticising the move, as Russia's war against
Ukraine continues.
Bookmaker Ratings CEO Asker Tkhalidzhokov told the business
daily Vedomosti that the total cost of Totti's participation in
the event is "a six-figure sum in euros," adding that he
believes it is the largest expense incurred by the portal for
the organization of the award, which was established in 2019.
As for the reactions and controversy that the announcement of
the former Giallorossi captain's arrival caused in Italy,
Tkhalidzhokov noted that they were a plus for the organizers
because of the attention they attracted to the event.
"From a PR point of view," the CEO said, "this is undoubtedly a
success. For previous ceremonies, we have not had such coverage
in foreign media. Dozens of Italian newspapers have already
published articles in which our logo and that of the award
appear, and so it is a successful advertising campaign."
"However," Tkhalidzhokov added, "due to fears of possible
pressure on Totti, we decided to cancel some activities that
were supposed to take place in Rome.
"If we had carried them out, there would probably have been even
more excitement. But since there is still some political
tension, Totti's side has been asked not to hold advertising
events in Italy."
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