Gymnasts scandal, Maccarani deferred: “Psychological pressures are being put in place”

The Federginnastica federal prosecutor’s office has referred the Farfalle coach Emanuela Maccarani and her assistant Olga Tishina as part of the investigation into the alleged ill-treatment of the athletes.

The accusation

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The federal prosecutor’s hearings had begun on 30 October at the International Academy of Desio and ended on 29 December. The provision is in line with the times set by the sports justice system and ahead of ordinary justice (the two are also being investigated by the Monza prosecutor’s office), still in the preliminary investigation phase. After having listened to all the subjects who for various reasons have attended the Desio facility in the last five years, Maccarani and her assistant are accused of violating art. 2 of the Justice and Discipline regulation, in relation to article 7 of the FGI Code of Ethics and article 2 of the Coni Sporting Code of Conduct. In particular, the charge against them is that of having adopted, in the period up to the summer of 2020, “training methods that do not comply with the duties of correctness and professionalism, putting in place psychological pressures and causing some gymnasts to of eating and psychological disorders”.

What risks

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The parties and their respective lawyers will be able, within 20 days, to present their defense or ask to be heard personally. The Federal Court will decide the acquittal or the sentence which can include from the admonition to the fine, passing to the suspension from fifteen days to two years up to the expulsion. At the moment their position, both in ordinary justice and in the federal one, is still to be explored and in the absence of a clear condemnation they continue their work, also by virtue of the trust of the national team athletes.