Mario Cipollini could face two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for domestic abuse charges

An Italian prosecutor has asked for Mario Cipollini to be given a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for charges of domestic abuse and stalking his ex-wife.

Cipollini is accused by his ex-wife Sabrina Landucci of grabbing her by the neck and throwing her against a wall at her place of work in Sant’Alessio in January 2017, which resulted in her attending the emergency room. He is also accused of threatening her and her new partner, former football player Silvio Giusti, pointing a gun at her, as well as stalking Landucci.

Cipollini, who is on trial in Lucca, has repeatedly denied all of the charges against him. His legal team is due to make its closing remarks on July 13, after which a verdict will be made by the court. A request for €80,000 in compensation has also been made by Landucci’s lawyer, Susanna Campione.

If found guilty, the former rider could receive a sentence of up to six years. However, the Lucca prosecutor, Letizia Cai, has requested one of two-and-a-half years.

According to Gazzetta di Lucca, Cai described Cipollini as an “extremely violent, extremely threatening and extremely deceiving” man in her summation. He was also described as being controlling and would try to manage what she wore and where she went.

She added that he was “guilty of mistreatment in the family, stalking his ex-wife and threats to the ex-wife’s partner,” according to Italian publication Corriere della Sera.

Landucci married Cipollini in 1993 and had two children with him before their separation in 2005.

She reported Cipollini to the police following the incident in 2017, but the court was told that Cipollini’s violent outbursts began early in the marriage.

One such outburst included an incident where the sprinter broke Landucci’s bike in two for fear she might use it “without his consent.” In another incident, the court heard that he threatened Landucci by saying “I’ll break everything, I’ll kill you, you’ll hear the sound of bones when they break.”

Following the attack in January 2017, Landucci’s partner Giusti went to her defense. The court was told that Cipollini then threatened Giusti and said, “You are nobody and you are worth nothing, while I am Cipollini. If one day at five I wake up and I want to make you disappear no one can find you anymore, I have friends everywhere.”

The case against Cipollini was first heard in March 2019 but it has suffered a series of delays due to COVID-19 restrictions and Cipollini’s ill health.