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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 12 OCTOBER 2016 20 Sport SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL OLYMPICS Paolo Maldini rejects Milan job offer In a post of his official Facebook page, Paolo Maldini explained his reasons for turning down a position with AC Milan PAOLO Maldini turned down a backroom role with AC Milan due to doubts about the project and not for financial reasons. Maldini made a record 902 appearances for Milan, winning Serie A seven times and the European Cup/Champions League on five occasions across 24 glittering years at San Siro. It has been reported in the Italian media that Milan's potential new owners, Sino Europe Sports, were keen on bringing in Maldini to work behind the scenes, but the Italy legend had reservations about his proposed position. In a lengthy post on Facebook, he wrote: "Milan has always been a matter of heart and passion for me. "My history, my father's history and my children prove it. No one can take this bond with the Rossoneri colours away from us. "It would have been much easier to go along with the excitement of the offer and say 'yes', diving headlong into this new ad- venture without considering the potential consequences . "I'd like to clarify certain matters to the Milan fans and the media, which gathered and reported news that the key issue was the financial aspect, forgetting that I and my family have always felt a sense of be- longing to Milan. "Salary was always a consequence of an agreement, never the cause. "This news, among other things, has been put forward by 'anonymous' sources, across channels and people I've known for 30 years, aiming to discredit me as a per- son to justify the failure to find an agree- ment. "I didn't put forward any financial de- mands, I reiterated at our first meeting that the definition of my role would be key to any possible collaboration. "I pointed out that I'd give my all to a serious project, but I'd never accept being used as merely a symbol. "I never asked for a 'Galliani role', i.e. a CEO with full power. I know what my vir- tues are, but I know my limitations even better - my area of expertise had to be the sporting side. "I was offered the role of Technical Direc- tor, before that a sporting director would be hired with the faith of the CEO. Then, according to the organisational chart that was presented to me, I would discuss any project, purchase, or sale of a player with my sporting director. "My specific question was what would happen if we disagreed, and [CEO Marco] Fassone told me he would decide. "I told him I didn't think that was the basis for a winning team. I've been part of teams which have made football history, and I know that to achieve results there has to be great synergy between all the corporate bodies and major investors, in addition to well-defined roles. "The last few seasons where Milan have had joint-CEOs should have been a lesson. "Of course, I'd have had to take - in the eyes of the fans, the press and the own- ership - the entire responsibility for the sporting side of things, potentially without having any executive power. "I never asked for direct contact with the ownership to bypass the CEO, I just expressed a wish to hear from Mr David Han Li, Executive Director of Sino Europe Sports. "I only wanted to meet with him for a few minutes, to hear what they expected from me and I wanted to hear in his own voice the goals we'd set ourselves and what in- vestments they planned to make. "I think it's a serious request that any professional has the right to speak with his own employer." Paolo Maldini Russian Lysenko stripped of 2012 Olympic hammer gold medal RUSSIA'S Tatyana Lysenko has been stripped of her London 2012 Olympic gold medal in the ham- mer throw after the former world champion tested positive for ster- oids in re-tests of her sample, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Tuesday. "Re-analysis of Lysenko's sam- ples from London 2012 resulted in a positive test for the prohibited substance dehydrochlormethyl- testosterone (turinabol)," the IOC said. The double world champion, who now competes under the name Beloborodova, had already been banned by the International As- sociation of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for doping earlier this year. She won world titles in 2011 and 2013 to add to her Olympic gold but did not compete at the Rio Games due to a track and field ban on Russian athletes over doping. The IOC ordered the IAAF to modif y the results of the event in London, where Poland's Anita Wlodarczyk finished second be- hind Lysenko and Germany's Betty Heidler came third. China's Zhang Wenxiu was fourth and could now be upgraded to the bronze medal. Lysenko, 33, also served a two- year ban from 2007-09 for using steroids, missing the 2008 Olym- pics, and now faces a lifetime sus- pension from the sport. Russia has been stripped of sev- eral medals due to re-tests from the 2008 Beijing Games and Lon- don 2012. Among others they have lost are the women's 4x400 and 4x100 metres relay medals from Beijing as well as the women's high jump bronze from those Games. Tatyana Lysenko