Lauria: Letter to a Vicepresident

Letter to Ezio Fornaciari, Vicepresident of the Italian Federation of Bridge (FIGB). By Cristiana Morgantini, Lorenzo Lauria, Monica Buratti, Carlo Mariani

 

Dear Ezio,

We’re writing to you so that you could help us to work out a puzzling situation which is penalizing us.

You’ll remember that in June 2018, after the National Mixed Team Championship played in Salsomaggiore, you informed us that you didn’t want longer play in the Mixed Team, also pointing out that you wouldn’t even participate to the final of the 2018 Mixed Coppa Italia, still to be played, deleting the established agreements.

If we have been interested, you would have left the team to we four (Monica Buratti, Carlo Mariani, Lorenzo Lauria and Cristiana Morgantini), otherwise the team would have been withdrawn.

I also think that you will remember that you phoned to Irene Baroni to inform her that you had left the Mixed Coppa Italia because you won’t longer pay anyone.

However, we decided to participate to the final, and we offered you to come to play the final without paying us any fee, just to support the team that, remaining only in four, could have had problems.

You replied that you would have made us known your decision, but you didn’t make yourself heard afterward. We thereby remained in four because, of course, with you also left the team Irene Baroni, Marina Emanuela Stegaroiu and Bogdan Marina, and, having played in eight the first stage, we couldn’t add other players to the team.

The matter is that, in order to not withdraw the team, and even though we were concerned for non stop playing, and although Cristiana Morgantini wouldn’t feel well the day of start, we went in four (Monica Buratti, Carlo Mariani, Lorenzo Lauria and Cristiana Morgantini), and we won the 2018 Mixed Coppa Italia, earning the participation to the final stage of the 2019 edition.

Nobody of us thought to change the name of the captain, sending it formally to the Federation; after all, your decision was by now known to all. And when we won, we passed over that the victory were granted to the team Fornaciari and that you earned the title and master points, despite that you had left the team.

But it is now a different matter.

First the Federation, and after the Sport Judge denied us the registration to the National Final to the 2019 Mixed Teams Coppa Italia on the ground that we are less than the 5/8th of the team.

It was useless to explain what actually happened: you had left the team and you weren’t longer the captain.

You can delete this injustice, releasing to us your and your professional players’ release (Marina Emanuela Stegaroiu, Bogdan Marina), so allowing us to obtain the right according to the point c) of the rule n. 1/2019 Settore Gare of 3rd January 2019.

Without your releases, the right to play would pass automatically to you, who have remained registered as captain.

We are sure that you’ll don’t really want to profit by this situation, and we won’t doubt that you’ll give us the release. It would be fair to give us them, and we wish that our vice-president would be fair. Attached, for your knowledge, the Sport Judge’s decision.

 

 Cristiana Morgantini,  Lorenzo Lauria, Monica Buratti, Carlo Mariani.

 

 

 

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In November 2018 team FORNACIARI won ten Italian Mixed Team Cup. The team was captained by Mr Ezio Fornaciari, Vicepresident of the Italian Bridge Federation (FIGB) and member of Italian Championships Committee. The team consisted of: Italian Star Lorenzo Lauria and his wife Cristiana Morgantini, Monica Buratti, Carlo Mariani, Irene Barone, Bogdan Marina and Marina Emanuela Stegaroiu. According to the Specific Regulation of Italian Mixed Team Cup, Fornaciari Team is eligibile to enter the final stage of the 2019 Cup.

Last year, several months before the final stage of 2018 Cup, Mr Fornaciari and three other players withdrew (Barone, Marina, Stegaroiu). Following the captain’s resignation, the Fornaciari Team played the final stage four-handed and won the Cup. No formal statements were released about the captains’s withdrawal and even if just four members of the team played the final stage, the title and master points were assigned to the whole team (8 players).

As the team now consists of four players only, they cannot enter the final stage of the 2019 Cup, because, without a formal statement by Mr Fornaciari, they do not represent the 2018 winning team. According to the Specific regulation of Italian Mixed Team Cup, the Defendant Champions are eligible to enter the 2019 final stage, if 2019 team consists at least of 5/8 players fielded in 2018. Team captains can line up additional players, as long as 5/8 are the same as the previous year. Alternatively, the captain can line up an entirely new team. But if there is an agreement between all the members of the 2018 team, any player can become captain and select the 2019 team.
Therefore, the four winners of the 2018 Cup cannot enter the 2019 Cup, but the Captain could enter with a new line-up.

The Italian Federation did not admit Lauria’s foursome to the final stage of 2019 Cup. Therefore, Lauria, Morgantini, Buratti and Mariani filed an appeal to Federal Sports Court, but their complaint was reject because the team consist of 4/8 of the 2018 team and there is no formal agreement between the foursome and the other players.

Lauria stated that in virtue of his ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ with Mr Fornaciari he decided not to appeal against the Court Sentence. Instead, he wrote a letter to Mr Fornaciari asking him to release a written agreement and to address this situation as soon as possible. However, at the moment the Vice-president has not yet answered and Lauria is very disappointed.

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