Paolo Petrecca steps back, Rai Sport in the hands of Marco Lollobrigida

The director of Rai Sport, Paolo Petrecca, has put his mandate in the hands of Rai CEO Giampaolo Rossi and will leave the post at the end of the Milan Cortina Olympics. The responsibility for Rai Sport will be given on a transitional basis to Marco Lollobrigida, deputy director: a Rai note announced.

Petrecca’s step back came after the director of Rai Sport ended up at the center of controversy for a series of mistakes made during the telecast of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, in which he had decided to launch himself in place of Auro Bulbarelli, who was forced to step aside after anticipating information about the presence at the San Siro of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella.

On the warpath against Petrecca, the editorial staff of Rai Sport had also descended, implementing a strike of journalists’ signatures and saying it was ready to strike at the end of the Five Circles review.

Aldo Seghedoni

Petrecca had also ended up at the center of new protests. Alessandro Antinelli, interviewed by Fanpage, had told some of the background. “On February 3 we had a meeting with the staff and director Petrecca. There he tells us ‘I remove Bulbarelli, I do the commentary.’ I advise him against it, and I tell him this in front of the industrial relations representative, who is a big shot. Fabrizio Tumbarello, who is the president of the Cdr” also reiterates it to him.

Petrecca, however, went on his way. “We told Petrecca that he did not have the skills to do this thing at all. Ceremonies are difficult, you have to study the flags, the characters there, the flag bearers. I didn’t humiliate him, I didn’t tell him he didn’t have the culture at all. It is simply a separate job, you don’t improvise. You have to have Olympism, some Olympic experience”.