SYDNEY (AP) — Italy Under-21 forward Cristian Volpato is changing national eligibility to Australia ahead of the World Cup, four years after he declined an invitation ahead of the 2022 tournament.
Football Australia said Friday the Sydney-born Volpato has been added to the Socceroos' training camp in Los Angeles, before its squad is finalized by Monday.
The 22-year-old Sassuolo player is eligible to make the switch under FIFA rules because he never played a competitive game for the senior Italy team.
The Australian soccer body said it “received a release letter from the Italian Football Federation” — a key step for FIFA to approve switching national eligibility.
Australia opens its World Cup campaign against Turkey on June 13 in Vancouver, plays the United States six days later in Seattle, and finishes Group D against Paraguay on June 25 at the San Francisco 49ers’ stadium. The top two in the standings go to the round of 32 and the third-place team also can advance.
Volpato turned down Australia ahead of the 2022 World Cup when he played his club soccer for Roma under coach José Mourinho.
Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third straight edition.
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
FILE -Sassuolo's Cristian Volpato controls the ball during the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Sassuolo at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, Dec. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Graham Platner’s wife publicly responded over the weekend to reports that she had informed his U.S. Senate campaign that the candidate had previously exchanged sexually explicit text messages with several women.
It's the latest controversy in Platner's whirlwind campaign to win the Democratic nomination in Maine and then face Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November in one of a few races that Democrats consider critical as they try to take control of the Senate.
Platner posted a video taken by his wife, Amy Gertner, Saturday night on X. In it, she avoided speaking directly about her husband's reported texts, dubbing the broader coverage as “gossip" and saying that “being married is hard.”
“I find it really shameful that there’s a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip,” she said in the informal, selfie-style video where she paced along a road. "No marriage is perfect, and I don't want a perfect marriage, I want my marriage."
The texts were first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which wrote that Gertner had told the campaign in August about the texts she had found on Platner's phone earlier in their marriage. She wanted to ensure they didn't pose a political liability to the novice candidate. Aides eventually decided that the texts were private and being handled by the couple, who were married in 2023.
“Our marriage counselor helps, my personal counselor helps, Graham’s personal counselor," Gertner said in the video posted Saturday. “Graham and I have a great marriage.”
It's not the first controversy for Platner, an oyster farmer and combat veteran. The candidate had a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol, which he said he didn't know until he was several weeks into the campaign. There's also been scrutiny of now-deleted posts he made on Reddit which were dismissive of military sexual assaults and used homophobic slurs.
Platner's campaign weathered those revelations in the Democratic primary against the state's Gov. Janet Mills, who was forced to abandon her bid and leave Platner to be the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Platner's campaign did not immediately respond to a call and text seeking comment.
Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks at an event hosted by Sen. Bernie Sanders in Orono, Maine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
