Winter Olympics targeted as ‘lives put at risk’ and PM issues statement | Other | Sport
The 2026 Winter Olympics have fallen victim to “hateful criminal acts” of sabotage targeting its transport infrastructure, with officials claiming that lives have been put “at risk.” Rail services throughout central Italy experienced delays of more than an hour on Saturday, in what senior figures suspect may be another deliberate act of sabotage during the Games.
Services between Naples and Rome faced significant disruption, with additional delays affecting the northbound route towards Florence. Italy’s Transport Minister Matteo Salvini denounced those behind the attacks following similar incidents last weekend and a further, less serious case earlier this week. Investigators are examining burnt cables along a section of the high-speed route between Rome and Naples, alongside two other suspected vandalism episodes on the Rome to Florence line.
An anarchist organisation had previously taken credit for an assault last Saturday, the Games’ first complete day, when rail infrastructure close to Bologna sustained damage, causing delays of up to two and a half hours across high-speed, intercity and regional networks.
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“These are hateful criminal acts aimed at workers and at Italy,” Salvini said in a statement. “I hope that no one plays down or tries to justify these crimes which put lives at risk.”
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also condemned the perpetrators, labelling them “enemies of Italy,” in a damning critique.
“Then you have them, the enemies of Italy and Italians, who demonstrate ‘against the Olympics,’ causing these images to be broadcast on television around the world. After others cut the railway cables to prevent trains from leaving,” Meloni wrote in a social media post.
Authorities have investigated burnt cables on a section of the line between Rome and Naples on Saturday, in addition to two other potential acts of vandalism between Rome and Florence.
A joint report between railway police and political police departments is being prepared, which is scheduled to be delivered to Rome prosecutors on Saturday for the formal opening of a criminal investigation.
