Italian sports broadcaster hit by strikes after Mariah Carey gaffe at Olympic opening ceremony
Winter Olympics opening ceremony errors prompt mass journalist strike
- Journalists from Italy's state-owned broadcaster RaiSport are protesting after commentator Paolo Petrecca made numerous embarrassing mistakes during the Milan Cortina Winter Games opening ceremony.
- Mr Petrecca's blunders included misidentifying Milan's San Siro stadium as Rome's Stadio Olimpico and mistaking Italian actress Matilda De Angelis for Mariah Carey.
- He also incorrectly identified International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry as the daughter of Italian President Sergio Mattarella and failed to recognise members of Italy's world champion volleyball teams.
- In response, RaiSport journalists announced protest measures, including withholding bylines until the end of the Winter Olympics and a three-day strike after the Games conclude.
- Mr Petrecca has since been removed from the closing ceremony commentary team, and the channel's internal union expressed widespread embarrassment over the incident.
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