2026 World Cup: Roberto Burioni Mocks Stefano Bizzotto for His Sensational Gaffe
France vs. Spain, the first semifinal of the 2026 World Cup, saw the first half end with a 1-0 lead for “La Roja” thanks to a penalty kick scored by Mikel Oyarzabal (Lucas Digne, fullback for Les Bleus). The moments leading up to the Spanish forward’s conversion, however, were marked by a sensational gaffe made live on Rai1 by veteran commentator Stefano Bizzotto. The blunder immediately went viral on social media, and among those who pointed it out with a touch of irony was Roberto Burioni.
“Penalty for Spain, and the Rai commentator, at around the 20:27 mark of the match, says, ‘A great chance for France and for Mbappé.’ I double-checked on RaiPlay. Unbelievable,” Burioni noted on his official Facebook account. Bizzotto, a native of Bolzano born in 1961, will bid farewell to his World Cup commentary for Rai during the France-Spain match, following a very long career behind the microphones of the state television network.
To be precise, this is the ninth World Cup Bizzotto has covered for Rai: an extraordinarily long career that has made him one of the most recognizable faces in Italian televised soccer commentary. The July 19 final in New York will instead be covered by Alberto Rimedio and Lele Adani, a duo who have already commentated on the semifinal between Argentina and England.
The penalty kick converted by Oyarzabal took on special significance in light of the Basque midfielder’s recent history: last April, in the Copa del Rey final played at the Estadio de la Cartuja in Seville, it was he who scored from the spot to give Real Sociedad a temporary 2-1 lead over Atlético Madrid, before the Colchoneros equalized and the match was decided in extra time and then on penalty kicks, with the Txuri-urdin ultimately triumphing. In short, he’s a player accustomed to moments of intense pressure, and he didn’t disappoint at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The penalty resulted from a foul by Digne on Lamine Yamal: an unforgivable lapse by the Aston Villa fullback—already well-known in Italy for his time at Roma—which effectively handed the lead to Spain. This incident was all the more significant given France’s flawless run so far—the only national team to have won all its matches in regulation time: in the group stage, Les Bleus had defeated Senegal, Iraq, and Norway, before eliminating Sweden, Paraguay, and Morocco in the knockout rounds.
Bizzotto’s gaffe, however sensational, clashes with the reputation that television critics have always attributed to him. Just a few days ago, Aldo Grasso, writing in *Corriere della Sera*, had described him as “an oasis of calm in the desert of clamour,” praising his “commendable restraint, moderation, and that stubborn tendency to prioritize describing reality over circus-like hype.” Such praise makes tonight’s episode all the more surprising—and social media has not failed to point it out with characteristic irony.
