There are "serious and repeated acts of bullying" at the basis of the disciplinary proceedings of the federal court of the Italian Sailing Federation which has suspended for periods ranging from three to seven months two athletes, the leaders and some instructors of the Windsurfing club Cagliari.
The videos
The story begins in the summer of last year when the parents of two boys view four videos in which their children are subjected to "bullying and violent" behavior. The parents ask two coaches to account for it, who alert the club's counselors. In the following days and weeks, several meetings are held between the athletes' families and club officials, which lead to the suspension of the two alleged bullies and the team's competitive activity. In the meantime, the families file complaints with the federal court, but also with the public prosecutor's office and the juvenile court.
The investigations
The FIV judges viewed the videos which – they wrote in the decision – «denote a context in which, during a trip, a group of minor athletes was left to their own devices without any form of control. This allowed two of them to engage in physically and morally harassing behavior towards very young subjects that the sports club should have protected». A chat was also included in the records which – again in the judges’ opinion – reveals «behaviors that, given their symptomatic value of a particular situation, should have been the object of an immediate response and which, on the contrary, inexplicably remained without follow-up by instructors and managers».
The decision
In the decision, filed yesterday and signed by the president Avilio Presutti and the author Simona Crispo, it is written that "at the end of the investigations, during which the videos, documents and statements of the parents of the minors were acquired, the Prosecutor's Office accuses the instructors of not having exercised adequate supervision, control and control over the athletes, allowing a situation of such discomfort to arise that all the boys of the team then left the club". The athletes held responsible for bullying are charged with "inappropriate, improper and illegitimate behavior towards other athletes". The representatives of the club are held responsible "for having done little or nothing to repress and punish the violent gestures and behaviors and re-establish a peaceful educational environment and this despite being informed of what was happening".
As written by the judges, at the end of last year the group of young athletes who were victims of the alleged bullying moved to another club. The president of the Windsurfing club, contacted, preferred not to make any statements. It is certain that an appeal will be filed against the decision of the federal court.
Fabio Manca
