Bragagna: Rai ordered to pay 40,000 euros for enforced leave
According to the Bolzano court, the enforced leave imposed on the commentator effectively prevented him from carrying out his duties
Five hundred days’ worth of accrued holiday entitlement were enough to bring an end to a thirty-five-year career at Rai. This is the ruling set out in writing by the Bolzano Labour Court, which ordered the company to pay Franco Bragagna 40,000 euros in compensation, plus 9,000 euros in legal costs.
First-instance judgement
According to Judge Werner Mussner, who upheld the appeal lodged by lawyer Natale Callipari, the enforced leave imposed on the commentator effectively prevented him from carrying out his duties, stopping him from covering the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo and the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.
The resignation
Having missed out on what would have been his 18th Olympic Games, Bragagna chose to step down, having already met the retirement criteria: his departure from Rai took effect on 31 December 2025, having turned 67 on 17 July.
The switch to Sky
The move to Sky came almost straight away, first with studio segments and then with a return to commentating on athletics at the European Championships in Birmingham. The possibility of one final Olympic adventure at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles remains open, albeit a distant one.
Speaking to *Il Corriere*, Bragagna recounted the negotiations with the company: “I had asked Rai if I could stay on until the Milan–Cortina Olympic Games, in return for the considerable amount of holiday entitlement I had accumulated and which I had essentially decided to give to the company.” As for his future prospects, however, he is open to the possibility of one last Olympics: “It’s definitely too early to say, but I’m leaving the door open. If I’m still of sound mind and body, I’d like to.”
