Italy: Rai sports staff to strike over Olympic opening farce

Journalists from Italy's RaiSport on Tuesday announced that they would stage a three-day strike after the Winter Olympics, and would no longer be putting their bylines on Olympics coverage, among other measures. 

They are protesting an opening ceremony broadcast by their boss last Friday that started with a wobble and soon fell off the rails entirely. 

What happened at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony?

RaiSport director Paolo Petrecca, formerly the head of RaiNews, began by casting doubt on whether he knew where he was standing, and then continued in roughly the same vein. 

He welcomed viewers to the "Stadio Olympico," a reference to Rome's renowned Olympic Stadium, while standing in Milan's equally well known San Siro stadium, home to both the city's football giants, AC and Inter Milan. 

Before long, Petrecca told viewers, "The show continues with Mariah Carey," as the cameras focused on Matilda de Angelis, a famous Italian actress more than 20 years younger than the US vocalist.

De Angelis has since posted a glamorous shot of herself with almost all her identifying features obscured on Instagram captioned, "PLEASE, CALL ME MARIAH."

When International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry walked into the stadium with Italian President Sergio Matarella, Petrecca announced "Matarella ... and his daughter." 

Petrecca also risked upsetting foreign viewers with observations including how the Spanish athletes were "always very hot," and how "naturally" many of the Chinese team members "have phones in their hands."

How did the Rai journalists respond?

The channel's editorial committee Comitato di Redazione, an internal union body representing journalists at the public broadcaster, issued a statement on Monday saying all journalists would withhold bylines during the Games and then strike for three days once the event is completed. 

"We have all been embarrassed, no one excluded, and through no fault of our own," it said. "It is time to make our voices heard because we are facing the worst-ever figure of RaiSport in one of the most eagerly awaited events ever." 

Opposition politicians in Italy picked up on the gaffes as a sign of the alleged politicization of appointments at Rai in recent years. Petrecca, formerly the head of RaiNews, had been accused of bias toward Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. 

"The Olympics are a time of utmost responsibility for public service broadcasting. Instead, RAI offered its worst version: the one we know all too well, TeleMeloni," the opposition Democratic Party said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the parent company Rai told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Petrecca had been removed from the commentary team for the February 22 closing ceremony after a meeting including Rai's CEO Giamapolo Rossi. 

Edited by: Wesley Dockery