The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed an appeal from Italian curler Angela Romei, who alleged nepotism influenced her exclusion from the national team for the upcoming Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The ruling was issued Sunday following an expedited hearing.
Romei contended that the Italian Curling Federation’s selection process was compromised by a conflict of interest when it named 19-year-old Rebecca Mariani to the team. Mariani is the daughter of Marco Mariani, the federation’s technical director and a former Olympian who competed when Italy last hosted the Winter Games in Turin in 2006.
In her appeal, Romei, a European Championship silver and bronze medalist, presented herself as the more experienced and qualified athlete. The CAS judge acknowledged the concerns raised but ultimately found insufficient evidence to conclude that Mariani’s selection was unreasonable or that the head coach would intentionally choose an inferior athlete to benefit a federation official’s family.
The court’s statement noted the judge was ‘not unsympathetic’ to Romei’s position but emphasized that the selection decision fell within the federation’s discretion. Rebecca Mariani is slated to serve as the reserve for the Italian women’s team, which will be skipped by Stefania Constantini, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in mixed doubles from the 2022 Beijing Games. The women’s curling competition is scheduled to begin Thursday in Cortina d’Ampezzo.