Paola Egonu: Italy's Draghi gives assist to volleyball participant over nationality problem

Reuters  — 

Outgoing prime minister Mario Draghi on Sunday supplied his full assist to Paola Egonu after the Italian volleyball participant born to Nigerian mother and father mentioned she was taking a break from the nationwide group following feedback questioning her nationality.

On Saturday, a video of the 23-year-old went viral by which she burst into tears after her group took bronze on this planet championships, telling her agent on the sidelines this was her final match with the nationwide group as she was uninterested in being questioned about whether or not she was Italian.

She later clarified she was solely taking a break to suppose issues via after “all of the insults and messages I acquired.”

Egonu was born in Italy however as a daughter of non-Italian mother and father she acquired her citizenship solely on the age of 14 when her father obtained an Italian passport, Italian media mentioned.

“We athletes give every thing in each recreation and it hurts to listen to that I don’t need to put on this jersey,” Egonu advised RAI tv on Saturday.

Egonu’s phrases sparked an outpouring of assist from throughout Italy, with Draghi telling the athlete in a cellphone name she was “a delight to Italian sport and may have future alternatives to win different trophies sporting the nationwide group jersey”.

The case additionally touched on a delicate problem in Italy, the place the incoming right-wing coalition that gained the September 25 normal election has been dismissing calls from the left to ease restrictive citizenship legal guidelines.