“The club of Volleyball Pordenone withdrew the summons and complied with all obligations towards Lara Lugli”, the athlete who did not receive the remuneration from the company after the termination of the contract due to a pregnancy. This is what Assist, the national athletes association, reports. «It is a great victory for everyone – comments Lara Lugli now – and it was very important that this case did not even enter a court to prove its groundlessness. It is a strong signal for all women, not just athletes, who find themselves having to face these absurd situations. I want to thank all those who have been by my side, in particular my lawyer Bonifacio Giudice Andrea, my agent Stefano Franchini, Assist and AIP, because their support has been fundamental for me », concludes Lara Lugli.
«There could be no other epilogue – declares the president of Assist, Luisa Rizzitelli – and an indelible stain for Italian sport and a real outrage to all women has rightly been avoided. We are proud to have been alongside Lara Lugli, a courageous woman who we hope will continue to fight for women’s rights in sport with us. This victory must be shared with all the athletes, associations, parliamentarians and citizens who have joined us in a huge protest. It took us two months which were difficult but, as Antonella Bellutti said yesterday, it was not tolerable that in the “Sport of values”, motherhood did not find its place and respect. Now I trust that FederVolley will set a good example for all the other Federations and that CONI will assume the position of thrust and control. It must be done for the protection of the rights of the athletes. We must change step on this and we must do it now. We are available with the conviction that there are no roads that cannot be followed together ”, concludes Luisa Rizzitelli.
The story
In early March the volleyball player Lara Lugli, with a post on Facebook had denounced the legal issue that saw her opposed to the club in which she played in the 2018/2019 season in the Serie B1 championship: volleyball Pordenone. In March 2019 she communicated to the club that she was unable to continue the season because she was pregnant, thus terminating the contract. Two years later he received a summons for damages, “for not having honored the contract.” “I get pregnant and on March 10 I communicate my status to the company, the contract is terminated”, the player had written on Facebook, announcing that, unfortunately, the following month she would have lost the baby due to a miscarriage. Later, the same would ask the club to pay the salary of February “for which I had worked and lent my business without reservations,” he specified in the post. In response to the subsequent injunction, she had received a summons for damages. “The accusations – Lugli had explained – are that at the time of signing the contract I was 38 years old and given the now venerable age I had to first inform the company of my possible desire to become pregnant, that my contractual request was exorbitant in terms market and that since my departure the championship has gone to pieces ».