The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive has said it will co-operate with the Brazilian police investigation into alleged ticket touting which led to the arrest of Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) president Pat Hickey in Rio early yesterday.
Mark Adams, communications director for the IOC, also stressed that while Mr Hickey was recently re-elected to the executive of the IOC for a further four years, the charges he faces in Rio relate specifically to his role as president of the OCI.
“President Bach [IOC president Thomas Bach], like the rest of us this morning, would like to see what the charges are and have some evidence, and then we’ll decide what we can do when we actually know the facts, rather than speculating,” Mr Adams said at yesterday’s daily briefing in Olympic Park.
“Let’s wait to see what charges are even made yet, and then obviously what evidence, and we follow the police investigation and we co-operate.
Legal assistance
“This is in parallel with the National Olympic Committee of Ireland where these disputed 1,000 tickets came from. It is involved in that and we wait to see that. Police here and the justice system here work in the way that it has to work. We fully support that.”
Mr Adams was unable to provide further details about Mr Hickey’s arrest and hospitalisation but confirmed it did not fall to the IOC to provide legal assistance, nor did the executive have immediate plans to meet in relation to the investigation.
“No. I should make clear that at this stage this has resulted from allegations around the Irish National Olympic Committee, of which Pat Hickey is the president. I presume, and I would hope, that they have sorted out legal counsel for him, but it’s very much at this stage something for the Irish National Olympic Committee and the allegations around it, for them to sort out whether there is any involvement at all with Mr Hickey. But there is no meeting of the executive committee on this topic.”
The issue of authorised ticket resellers and allegations of touting have been high on the IOC media agenda since this month’s arrests in Rio of individuals linked to the sports hospitality group THG Sports – which had a deal as the official reseller for the Olympic Council of Ireland for the London Games and the Sochi Winter Olympics.
A statement from THG rejected allegations that the seized tickets – reportedly in excess of 1,000 – were on the market at vastly inflated prices.
Some of the confiscated tickets carried the name of the OCI.
Internal investigation
The OCI declared it had “no knowledge” of the individuals arrested and confirmed an immediate internal investigation into how OCI tickets might have come into the possession of those arrested.
The subsequent arrest of Mr Hickey came as part of the Rio police investigation.
Mr Adams responded to a question about whether the IOC would be concerned that the image of an executive member “opening the door naked in a police raid is one of the enduring images of the Games”. He said: “We follow the system of justice here and that’s how things are done in Brazil, and we respect the justice system. As I’ve said before he’s innocent until proven guilty.
“There aren’t even any facts yet, or any allegation, so let’s wait before we get ahead of ourselves.
“To repeat one more time: Mr Hickey is entitled for the world to believe he is innocent until proven guilty.
“There are no charges have been brought yet. Let’s not jump the gun on this one.
“It involves 1,000 tickets from the Irish NOC. They are looking into it. The police are looking into it. We fully co-operate with that.”
