The organisers of the Trieste half-marathon have been accused of racism after refusing to invite African runners to participate.
Fabio Carini, the race manager, claimed on Saturday that the restriction was to stop African athletes from being exploited.
“This year we have decided only to hire European athletes to avoid what is currently a trade in high-value African athletes, who are simply exploited,” he said on Saturday.
“Now is the time that from this Trieste, a multicultural city, says enough to the sport.
“Our goal is that this does not remain an isolated fact but that we change the rules.”
He told Italian channel Rai Television that the athletes were “underpaid and treated indecently in relation to their sporting value”.
But the announcement has caused outrage in Italy, with multiple politicians condemning the decision.
Isabella de Monte, an Italian member of the European Parliament with the Democratic Party, said the only way to react was wiith “outrage.”
“Sport becomes discrimination and disloyalty... hidden behind the vile, shameless excuse of exploitation by managers,” she said on Twitter.
“April 2019! In Trieste, African athletes are prohibited from participating in the half marathon. ‘Managers exploit them’ is the hypocritical justification,” said Cristiano Shaurli, a regional secretary for the Democratic Party.
Mr Shaurli compared the restriction to apartheid and shared a photograph on Twitter of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two Black athletes who protested against racism at the 1968 Olympics.
As the backlash grew, marathon organisers said that although African runners would not be invited or hired for the marathon, they could try to put themselves forward to participate.
The controversy comes after Lazio fans racially abused a black footballer playing for AC Milan on Wednesday evening.
Additional reporting by agencies
