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Asja Cogliandro "fired for being pregnant." The taboo of pregnancy in sports and the case of Lara Lugli: "It's déjà vu."

Asja Cogliandro "fired for being pregnant." The taboo of pregnancy in sports and the case of Lara Lugli: "It's déjà vu."

For those who thought time and hype were enough to change things, the wake-up call has come. This time it was Asja Cogliandro's turn, a Serie A1 volleyball player playing for Perugia . Only until her contract expired, which had been reduced. Then she was "forced"—so she said—to change teams. Or to stop. Why? Not a sporting fault: she decided to become a mother .

In January 2025, she announced her pregnancy to the club: first the congratulations, then, she says, the mood changed. They asked her to leave her accommodation—a claim the club denied—and to return part of her salary . Cogliandro proposed alternatives: internal roles, renegotiation. But the new offer was lower than agreed. They offered to terminate her contract . She refused. And filed a complaint.

She speaks of pressure, humiliation, and blaming : "They were blunt. They just wanted me out of the way." The League and the Federation expressed their solidarity. They pointed out that a maternity fund exists, and that the reform of sports employment has been in force since July 2023. Perugia rejected the allegations, arguing that the contract was expiring: therefore, no layoffs for the club.

But some within the Federation recognize that things could have been done differently. "If I had been a club manager, I would have accepted the athlete's proposal. It would have been a gesture of maturity and responsibility ," says Elio Sità , vice president of the Italian Volleyball Federation. "We are in a transition phase. The Cogliandro case shows that something still needs to be done."

Motherhood: a sweet word, a natural direction—they say—and an emotional compass for women. Only as long as it doesn't interfere with one's career . Lara Lugli , a former volleyball player who experienced the same—more abject—script in 2018, repeats it. When she became pregnant, her club fired her and even sued her for damages : "A déjà vu. The reform hasn't changed anything," she tells us. "It's not an isolated case. It happens often, but not everyone reports. And it can't be the courage of individuals that changes things."

LaraLugli-Opening

For Lugli, the solution is professionalism : "Until athletes are registered as employees , these incidents will continue. We need full recognition and a serious discussion with federations, CONI, the League, and unions." And the maternity fund? "€1,000 a month for a maximum of 12 months, accessible only to a few, is a patch. The problem is cultural: motherhood is seen as a choice, injury as bad luck . Both take you away from the field, but only with an injury is your pay intact."

Sport and motherhood, a (still) impossible combination. The #athleteandmother battle to break the taboo.

The club, she emphasizes, could have retained the athlete and assigned her other duties, as Cogliandro herself proposed. According to Lugli, "the economic excuse doesn't hold up. Military sports groups exist with all the necessary safeguards . Why not pursue the same solutions?" A question in need of an answer. Currently, only the Italian Football Federation has introduced professionalism in the women's Serie A. The other federations remain inactive.

"Professionalism could be a goal, but it takes time and conditions ," Sità explains. Before the public complaints from the Assist association—which has been fighting for athletes' rights for years—the anti-maternity clause was standard practice: informal, but accepted.

It's raining on the wet. Not on Ermione, but on Asja and Lara and who knows how many others. Mothers, athletes, fired workers . There is a glimmer of hope. "After I reported it, I received many messages : both from those who had suffered the same treatment and from students who brought my case up in their theses and dissertations. It's essential to tell people that these things happen. We're not recognized as professionals. Many don't know this," says Lugli.

In women's basketball, you win, but visibility remains a male privilege.

But cohesion among athletes is still lacking . "I'm not pointing the finger at those who don't report, but at those who don't show solidarity. It's serious. And, also for this reason, it's not easy to organize strikes or collective actions ." Is time a gentleman? We'll see. For now, it doesn't do women any favors, but structural injustices .

There's a Nike ad in which some of the world's strongest athletes, from Caitlin Clark to Alexia Putellas , hear phrases like: "You're a woman, therefore you're not enough." The response? "So win." And they win, indeed. And they also demand salaries and guarantees worthy of their victories. Meanwhile, the Italian women's volleyball team has just won gold at the Nations League . Need we say more?

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