Paolo Petrecca, the director of Rai Sport, has resigned following widespread criticism over his commentary during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony. His remarks, which included factual errors and inappropriate comments, sparked protests from journalists at the Italian public broadcaster.
During the ceremony, Petrecca mistakenly welcomed viewers to Rome's Stadio Olimpico instead of Milan's San Siro, where the event was held. He also confused Italian actress Matilda De Angelis with Mariah Carey and misidentified IOC president Kirsty Coventry as the daughter of the Italian president. Additionally, he failed to recognize two members of the Italian women's volleyball team and made remarks about Spanish athletes being 'always very hot' and Chinese athletes 'naturally having phones in their hands'.
The gaffes drew condemnation from Rai Sport journalists, who withheld bylines from their Olympics coverage and planned a three-day strike after the Games. Journalists across Rai's news networks also withdrew bylines in solidarity. The internal union CDR expressed embarrassment over Petrecca's coverage.
Petrecca's appointment had been criticized by the opposition as an example of political favouritism under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, which they accuse of rightwing bias at Rai. His resignation was announced after a board meeting on Thursday, with reports indicating he would be replaced by Marco Lollobrigida, a veteran Rai sports presenter.
Stefano Graziano, a Democratic Party politician on Rai's oversight committee, called the resignation necessary but overdue, describing Petrecca as an 'emblem' of what he termed 'TeleMeloni'. He said the approach had weakened the news industry and called for a 'true break'. In 2024, Rai news anchors had read a union statement condemning the government for turning the broadcaster into a 'government megaphone'.
