Favoritism Furor Erupts After Top Coach’s Daughter Named To Olympic Team

MILAN, Jan 21 (Reuters) – The Italian women’s curling team have been hit by a favouritism row after the selection of their technical director’s daughter for next month’s Winter Olympics in their home country.

Rebecca Mariani, the 19-year-old daughter of Marco Mariani, was among the five women named in the Italy squad for the Games next month which will be hosted in Milano Cortina

The selection brought an angry response from Angela Romei, who has been omitted after being in the squad for several years.

Romei complained that she had been dropped less than a month before the Olympics in favour of an inexperienced player.

“If it had been a tactical decision, they could have tried it out much earlier and then weighed things up, explaining the reasons to those directly involved,” she told Italian daily La Stampa.

Romei said technical director Marco Mariani told her she had been left out in a telephone call rather than face-to-face.

“I have always believed in human relationships and fair play both on and off the field of play, and what happened to me is the antithesis of all that,” she added.

The Italian Ice Sports Federation (FISG) strongly defended the decision.

“The choice made by the technical director, in consultation with the coaches of the individual national teams, is purely technical in nature, based on the performances of the individual players over the last year,” it said in a statement to Reuters.

“Rebecca Mariani, in the role of alternate (reserve), has playing characteristics that allow her to fill all four roles in the team, unlike Romei, who has always filled only one. This offers the technical director greater assurance and coverage in case of need,” it added.

Marco Mariani is a well-known figure in the sport. He was a member of the Italy team at the 2006 Winter Olympics and coached China’s women’s team before taking up his current post in 2024.

The family is from Cortina where the Olympic curling events will be staged. Rebecca Mariani represented Italy at the World Youth Olympics in 2024 and FISG noted she had already played three international tournaments with the senior team this season.

Italy’s women’s team at the Games next month will be led by Stefania Constantini, who won a gold medal with Amos Mosaner in the mixed doubles in Beijing in 2022.