Recent articles on the tragedies involving Matteo Franzoso and Matilde Lorenzi: FISI issues a statement

In a statement, the Italian Winter Sports Federation addressed several very recent articles. We reproduce it in its entirety

“Following recent print media reports referring to ‘possible errors by the coaching staff’ in the fatal accident involving Matteo Franzoso in Chile on September 13, 2025, which were then linked to the news of the upcoming elective assembly on October 10, 2026, for the renewal of the central federation bodies, the Italian Winter Sports Federation wishes to reaffirm, first and foremost, its commitment to protecting its athletes, coaches, and the entire sports movement.

This is, in fact, an insensitive, outdated, and disrespectful publication of alleged news stories that link the tragic incident involving Matteo Franzoso to the upcoming elections for the central governing bodies; in light of this, the Federation cannot fail to clarify the following.

All the women and men of the Federation are deeply saddened by the tragic losses of Matteo Franzoso and Matilde Lorenzi. The grief over the passing of these two young athletes is a sentiment shared by the entire winter sports community, which has rallied around their families.

In both cases, the Federation—within the scope of its authority and the limits of the jurisdiction granted to sports justice bodies—has urged the Federal Prosecutor’s Office to conduct all investigations within its power. Based on the current state of the case files, these investigations have concluded with decisions to dismiss the cases, as no specific liability was found to be attributable to Federation members. As for the case of Matteo Franzoso, the dismissal was ordered by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office and received the favorable opinion of the CONI Attorney General’s Office on February 5, 2026: Nevertheless, the Federation has still invited the Federal Prosecutor’s Office to conduct further investigations in an effort to ascertain any and all potential liability related to the events that occurred. Any other interpretation is specious and, at this particular stage in the Federation’s history, can only be regarded as blatantly self-serving.

The families of Matilde and Matteo have legitimately requested the intervention of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, whose investigations into the tragic accidents are still ongoing. It is the Federation’s hope that the necessary investigations will be conducted in that forum to ascertain the truth of the facts, out of respect for the missing youths, their families, and the entire winter sports movement. In this regard, the Federation has always guaranteed its full willingness to cooperate fully with the judicial authorities.”