Italian reporters to protest over boss’s gaffe-filled Olympic commentary | Italy
Sports journalists at the Italian state broadcaster are staging a series of protests in response to errors made by Rai sports director Paolo Petrecca in his commentary on the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Petrecca, who was appointed to the post in 2025, first greeted audiences at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico rather than Milan’s San Siro, where Friday’s ceremony was held, before mistaking Italian actor Matilda De Angelis for Mariah Carey and International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry for Laura Mattarella, the Italian president’s daughter.
The gaffes were quickly mocked by viewers on social media and embraced by members of the Italian opposition due to Petrecca’s close allegiance to Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government. De Angelis joked: “Mariah Carey and I are apparently the same person.”
CDR, the internal union representing Rai journalists, said on Monday that in response to the sports director’s “disastrous coverage” of the Olympic opening ceremony, the broadcaster’s sports journalists would stage protests, including not covering the games and staging a three-day strike when the event ends.
CDR said: “We were all ashamed for three days” he said in a statement. “And it’s not our fault. It’s time to make our voices heard because we are facing Rai Sport’s worst performance to date during one of the most anticipated events of all time, the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina.”
The CDR said the inaccurate commentary harmed Rai, license fee payers and public service journalists. The statement noted: “This is not a political issue, as some people think, but a matter of respect and dignity for the public service.”
The journalists’ union Usigrai described the comment as “inadequate”.
Opposition politicians claimed that the incident was the latest example of alleged right-wing bias in Rai. Sandro Ruotolo of the Democratic party said this represented another sign of “political invasion and amateurism” in what he called “TeleMeloni”.
In an unprecedented action in 2024, news anchors on Rai’s three main TV channels read a statement from Usigrai condemning the Meloni administration for “turning Rai into a government megaphone”.
Before coming to power in October 2022, Meloni frequently accused Rai of left-wing bias.
Rai Sports has been approached for comment.
