RIO DE JANEIRO International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Patrick Hickey, arrested in Brazil this week as part of an investigation into illegal ticket sales, has not yet been heard by a judge and should be presumed innocent, IOC President Thomas Bach said on Saturday. THG Sports was licensed to resell London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Olympic tickets. He has been taken to Bangu maximum security prison in Rio de Janeiro.
Advertisement
The OCI would only say that it was “seeking total clarity on the situation” before commenting. He was admitted to Samaritano hospital for chest pains after his arrest but released the next day into custody.
According to Brazilian media reports, Hickey tried to escape when police arrived to arrest him in his hotel room in the Barra district of Rio.
The Olympic Council of Ireland said it will “cooperate fully” with any state inquiry at home into the ticketing scandal.
Hickey was filmed Thursday being taken out of the hospital in a wheelchair.
The OCI statement said he had stepped down temporarily from his role with the Irish body as well as an International Olympic Committee member, president of the European Olympic Committees and vice-president of the Association of National Olympic Committees.
Police have not questioned other officials of the International Olympic Committee, which is ready to give any assistance to Brazilian authorities, he said. He joined the executive board four years ago.
The IOC said it was “still in the process of establishing the facts”.
Brazilian police have launched a widening investigation after seizing more than 1,000 premier tickets for Games events, including the opening ceremony.
THG has rejected the accusations against the company and Mallon, saying that more than 1,000 tickets seized by police were being held legally on behalf of PRO10 and criticizing local Olympic organizers.
Advertisement
His arrest comes after police last week detained a director of THG Sports, an global sports hospitality company, Kevin Mallon, and a translator employed by the company, alleging that they could have made 10 million reais ($3 million) from buying tickets and reselling them at a higher price. As head of the European body he has been instrumental in setting up the European Games which was first held in Baku, Azerbaijan, last year.
