Overview
- A national-team player reported psychological pressure and sexual advances to the FCRI Safeguarding Officer, and CONI forwarded the case to Rome prosecutors, who opened a sexual-violence file naming coach Prabath Ekneligoda.
- The charging document alleges that during a late-2022 training massage he pulled up the athlete’s shorts and massaged with oil from her ankle to the gluteus before being stopped as he neared intimate parts.
- Witnesses tell reporters that additional athletes, including at least one minor, experienced similar conduct or were asked for sexual favors for selection, with some deterred from speaking by fear of reprisals and economic dependence.
- The federation says Ekneligoda was suspended from all duties, he requested interrogation and denies wrongdoing as a politically timed plot linked to ex-president Fabio Marabini, who rejects that allegation.
- Governance unraveled as six councilors resigned and Haz Paz lost her majority, with CONI expected to appoint a commissioner; despite the suspension he was reportedly seen around team activity abroad and some players voiced support.