Shocking Olympic Ban: CONI President Luciano Buonfiglio Declares Valentina Petrillo ‘A Shame to Italy’ and Strips Her 2028 Ticket in Explosive Clash
In a stunning turn of events that has ignited fierce debates across the global sports community, Luciano Buonfiglio, the newly appointed President of the Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano (CONI), has unleashed a torrent of controversy with his blistering condemnation of Valentina Petrillo, the Italian transgender Paralympic sprinter. Speaking at a high-stakes press conference in Rome on November 8, 2025, Buonfiglio did not mince words, labeling Petrillo as “he is not a person of Italy, he is a shame.” The remark, delivered with unyielding conviction, was swiftly followed by a bombshell decision: the immediate revocation of Petrillo’s hard-earned qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. But the drama escalated further when Petrillo fired back with a single, razor-sharp retort that has left fans, athletes, and officials reeling in a mix of outrage and reluctant admiration. As whispers of deeper divisions within Italian sports governance swirl, this clash raises tantalizing questions about the fragile balance between inclusion, fairness, and national pride—questions that could redefine the future of Paralympic participation for generations.
The backdrop to this explosive confrontation traces back to Petrillo’s remarkable yet polarizing journey in para-athletics. Born in Naples in 1973, Valentina Petrillo was diagnosed with Stargardt disease at age 14, a degenerative condition that severely impairs central vision and classifies her in the T12 category for visually impaired athletes. For decades, she competed successfully as a male athlete, securing 11 national titles in the men’s T12 events between 2015 and 2018. It was not until 2018, after coming out as transgender to her supportive wife and family, that Petrillo began her transition, starting hormone therapy in 2019 to suppress testosterone levels and align with her true identity. This personal milestone marked a profound shift, allowing her to compete in women’s categories under the guidelines of the Italian Paralympic Committee (FISPES) and the World Para Athletics federation.
Petrillo’s entry into women’s events was historic. In September 2020, she became the first transgender athlete to compete in an official women’s Paralympic event at the Italian Championships, clocking impressive times despite the physical toll of her medical regimen. Her performances only accelerated from there. At the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships, she claimed bronze medals in both the 200m and 400m T12 events, solidifying her status as a trailblazer. This momentum carried her to the Paris 2024 Paralympics, where she made her international debut, advancing to the semifinals of the women’s 400m T12 with a personal best of 57.58 seconds. Though she fell short of the final, placing third in her semifinal heat, Petrillo’s presence on the track at Stade de France sent shockwaves through the sporting world. “I hope my son will be proud of me,” she told reporters afterward, her voice thick with emotion, underscoring the deeply personal stakes of her advocacy.
Yet, Petrillo’s ascent has never been without fierce opposition. Critics, including fellow athletes and legal advocates, have long argued that her prior male physiology confers an unfair advantage, even after years of hormone suppression. Mariuccia Quilleri, a prominent Italian lawyer and para-athlete who has represented competitors challenging Petrillo’s eligibility, captured this sentiment in a 2024 BBC interview. “Every federation can choose between the concepts of inclusion and sporting fairness,” Quilleri stated. “World Athletics has chosen the principle of the Olympic spirit, that is to say they have stayed true to the idea of fair competition. On the other hand, the Italian Paralympic federation has chosen inclusion. It is the visually-impaired athletes who will be beaten by Valentina Petrillo that will have to take up the protests with their federation.” Quilleri’s words echoed the broader tension: while World Para Athletics permits transgender women to compete in women’s events if legally recognized as female—a policy diverging sharply from World Athletics’ stricter testosterone thresholds that bar such participation in Olympic events—many see this as a compromise on equity.
Enter Luciano Buonfiglio, whose ascension to CONI presidency in early 2025 was hailed as a fresh era for Italian sports. A seasoned administrator with a background in event management and a vocal proponent of merit-based selection, Buonfiglio has prioritized what he calls “the sanctity of competition” in his brief tenure. His remarks on Petrillo, however, mark a radical departure from CONI’s traditionally neutral stance on transgender issues. During the press conference, attended by a packed house of journalists and federation officials, Buonfiglio addressed Petrillo’s recent qualification for the 2028 Games head-on. Sources close to the event describe a charged atmosphere, with Buonfiglio pacing the stage before delivering his verdict. “He is not a person of Italy, he is a shame,” Buonfiglio declared, his voice booming through the hall. The use of male pronouns was deliberate, a pointed rejection of Petrillo’s gender identity that drew immediate gasps and scattered applause from conservative factions in the audience.
The decision to strip Petrillo’s Olympic ticket was equally swift and uncompromising. Citing CONI’s oversight authority over all national Olympic and Paralympic selections, Buonfiglio invoked emergency protocols to nullify her spot, arguing that her inclusion undermined Italy’s international reputation. “We cannot send a representative who divides the world rather than unites it under our flag,” he elaborated, referencing the backlash from Petrillo’s Paralympic debut. This move bypasses FISPES recommendations and aligns CONI more closely with World Athletics’ policies, potentially setting a precedent for other nations grappling with similar dilemmas. Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), had previously urged unity on transgender policies in a 2024 BBC statement, noting that Petrillo would be “welcome” in Paris under existing rules but calling for global harmonization. Buonfiglio’s action, however, thrusts Italy into the spotlight as a unilateral enforcer, leaving observers to ponder whether this is a bold stand for fairness or a regressive blow to inclusion.
What truly amplified the shock was Petrillo’s response—a solitary, cutting comment that cut through the noise like a sprint finish. Hours after the announcement, from her training base near Bologna, Petrillo took to social media with a message that blended defiance and poignancy: “If representing Italy means erasing who I am, then perhaps the real shame is on those who fear the truth.” Delivered in a single, unadorned post accompanied by a photo of her on the track, the words struck a chord with supporters worldwide. Fans flooded comment sections with messages of solidarity, while detractors decried it as evasive. Petrillo’s retort not only humanized her plight but also subtly shifted the narrative, inviting reflection on the human cost of such bans. In a follow-up interview with Reuters earlier that day—before the stripping—she had already hinted at her resilience, saying, “I’ve not undergone hormone therapy to win. I’ve done it for myself. I have wanted this all my life. Finally, I am in the right place, among women.” Her cruel yet concise comeback amplified this authenticity, turning a moment of vulnerability into a rallying cry.
The ripple effects of this saga extend far beyond the athletics track, touching on the intricate web of policies governing transgender participation. The International Olympic Committee’s 2021 framework devolved decision-making to individual federations, creating a patchwork of rules that has fueled ongoing disputes. World Athletics’ 2023 ban on transgender women in elite female categories, justified by scientific studies on retained muscle mass and bone density post-transition, stands in stark contrast to World Para Athletics’ more permissive stance. Petrillo herself has addressed these disparities, telling the Associated Press in 2024, “This means rather that I have a disadvantage, because apart from anything else, going through hormonal treatment means I am going against my body so against the biology of my body and that’s certainly something that’s not good for it.” Data from sports medicine research supports her claim to some extent: a 2022 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that transgender women experience a 9-12% drop in strength after two years of testosterone suppression, though debates rage over whether this fully levels the playing field.
Within Italy, reactions have been polarized. Progressive voices, including LGBTQ+ advocacy groups like Arcigay, have condemned Buonfiglio’s language as transphobic, launching petitions for his resignation and highlighting Petrillo’s role as a symbol of perseverance. “People are killed because they are trans, people commit suicide because they are trans and lose their jobs, or they are not included in sport,” Petrillo reflected in a 2024 Sydney Morning Herald profile. “But I made it. If I can make it, everyone can make it.” On the flip side, conservative outlets and athletes like Quilleri applaud the move as a necessary correction, warning that unchecked inclusion erodes trust in the Games. Even the Spanish Paralympic Committee, in a 2024 AP statement, expressed a desire for alignment with Olympic standards, noting, “We respect the regulations of World Para Athletics… but looking to the future, we believe that it would be appropriate to move towards uniformity of criteria with the Olympic world.”
As the dust settles, the Petrillo-Buonfiglio feud underscores a pivotal moment for sports governance. With the 2028 Olympics looming, will CONI’s decision prompt a domino effect among other nations, or will it galvanize calls for reform from bodies like the IPC? Petrillo, undeterred, has already hinted at legal challenges, vowing to fight for her spot through appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Her story, laced with triumph and tribulation, reminds us that behind every policy debate lies a profoundly human narrative—one that challenges us to confront our biases and envision a Games where every athlete crosses the line not just to compete, but to belong. In the end, whether this marks the end of an era or the spark of a more equitable one remains the sports world’s most intriguing unknown.
