Italian reporters to protest over boss’s gaffe-filled Olympic commentary

Mon, 09 Feb 2026

Director of state broadcaster Rai Sport welcomed viewers to wrong stadium and mistook Italian actor for Mariah Carey

Sports journalists at the Italian state broadcaster are staging protests in response to blunders made by the sports director throughout his commentary on the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Paolo Petrecca, who was appointed to the role at Rai Sport in 2025, first welcomed viewers to Rome’s Stadio Olimpico instead of Milan’s San Siro, where Friday’s ceremony was held, before mistaking the Italian actor Matilda De Angelis for Mariah Carey and Kirsty Coventry, president of the International Olympic Committee, for Laura Mattarella, daughter of the Italian president.