Milan, July 28 (LaPresse) – Volleyball player Asja Cogliandro, with a 15-year career between Serie A1 and A2, claims she was dismissed by her team, Perugia, after becoming pregnant. She made the allegation in an interview with the newspaper La Stampa. "A great love story ended with an unimaginable form of psychological violence that I just can’t understand," she said. First came the contract, then the pregnancy — and everything changed. "There were seven weeks left in the season, and I thought I would stay. I shared the news with some long-time teammates for support. On January 21, I went to practice feeling afraid. I walked out of the locker room with a decision: the next day, I told the sporting director," she recalled. His reaction? "He was overjoyed. He hugged me and congratulated me. Full of anxiety, I then made the official announcement. Right away, the club told me to vacate the team apartment and repay the rent that had already been covered." "Then came the calls: 'We need to figure out what to do with your contract.' They pressured me to request maternity leave, even though it only begins two months before the due date. They weren’t reasoning — they just wanted to cut me." "I’ve had injuries in my career: when you’re out due to injury, they still pay you; when you’re pregnant, they push you out. They called me ungrateful, they threatened me. I was told I should accept their offer, or I’d never find another team," Cogliandro claimed.
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