THE COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT (CAS) HAS ISSUED THE FOLLOWING MEDIA RELEASE:
„WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES MILANO CORTINA 2026
CURLING
THE CAS AD HOC DIVISION DISMISSES TWO APPLICATIONS BY ANGELA ROMEI (ITALY)
Milan, 8 February 2026 – The CAS Ad hoc Division has dismissed two applications by Curling athlete Ms Angela Romei (Italy) against the Italian Ice Sports Federation (Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio – FISG) and against World Curling (WCF). The selection of athletes for the Italian Women’s Curling Team for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 (2026 OWG) remains unchanged.
On 4 February 2026, the athlete challenged a correspondence by the FISG on 2 February 2026, which explains the team selection process and states that the team selection announced on 20 January 2026 will not be revised. She also challenged a letter by WCF on 2 February 2026 which informed her, upon a request to investigate the matter, that the team selection process is a matter for the FISG. Ms Romei argued that the curling team selection was a conflict of interest, favouring a FISG Technical Director’s daughter, Ms Rebecca Mariani, over a more experienced and qualified athlete.
A hearing took place on 7 February 2026. Both matters were considered by a Sole Arbitrator.
For the application against the FISG, the Sole Arbitrator did not find it likely that the head coach of a national team would agree to include an athlete in the Olympic team that is inferior to another athlete, simply to help a member of the federation to include family into the Olympic roster. They found it equally unlikely that he would endorse false or fabricated statements to justify such a decision. Despite being not unsympathetic to the athlete’s concerns in these circumstances, the Sole Arbitrator did not find sufficient evidence demonstrating that the decision to select Ms Mariani over Ms Romei was arbitrary or unreasonable and the application was dismissed.
For the application against WCF, the Sole Arbitrator found that WCF does not hold the decision-making authority to grant Ms Romei’s request and confirmed that it is not the task of international federations to revisit the selection process at national level. Consequently, the application was dismissed.
This is an unofficial summary for media use.
For further information related to CAS activity and procedures, please contact either Matthieu Reeb, CAS Director General, or Vanessa Tracey, Communications Officer. Palais de Beaulieu, av. Bergières 10, 1004 Lausanne, Switzerland.
We are available to handle disputes before the CAS Ad Hoc and CAS Anti- Doping Divisions at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games and further information is available from either Dr Lucien Valloni or Avv. Sara Botti by emailing them at valloni@valloni.ch or botti@valloni.ch.