Winter Olympics favouritism row erupts as hosts Italy pick curling director’s daughter

Italy’s women’s curling team has been embroiled in a favouritism row following the controversial selection of their technical director’s daughter for next month’s Winter Olympics, set to be held on home soil.

Rebecca Mariani, 19, daughter of technical director Marco Mariani, was named among the five-woman squad for the Games in Milano Cortina.

This decision has sparked outrage from Angela Romei, an experienced player who has been part of the national squad for several years but was unexpectedly omitted.

Romei expressed her dismay at being dropped less than a month before the Olympics in favour of a less experienced 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.

She further revealed that Marco Mariani informed her of the decision via a telephone call, rather than face-to-face.

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"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," Romei added.

The Italian Ice Sports Federation (FISG) has robustly defended the selection. In a statement to Reuters, it asserted: "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."

The federation elaborated on Rebecca Mariani’s role: "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."

Marco Mariani is a prominent figure in curling, having represented Italy at the 2006 Winter Olympics and coached China’s women’s team before assuming his current post in 2024.

The Mariani family hails from Cortina, the venue for the Olympic curling events.

Rebecca Mariani competed at the World Youth Olympics in 2024 and has already participated in three international tournaments with the senior team this season.

The Italian women’s team for the upcoming Games will be led by Stefania Constantini, who secured a gold medal in mixed doubles with Amos Mosaner at the Beijing 2022 Olympics.