Tag Archives: Pat Hickey

Former OCI president Pat Hickey and boxer Michael Conlon

Johnny Watterson, in The Irish Times, reports:

An official Rio Olympics report from Irish boxing team manager Joe Hennigan claims that Irish management were informed during the boxing competition that fights at the games had been fixed.

It further claims that the medal hopes of one of our brightest prospects, Michael Conlan, were “gone” before he stepped into the ring.

The alarming claims were made in a three-page report, verified as authentic and seen by The Irish Times.

Hennigan, who was subsequently voted in as vice-president of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association in 2017, was given the information regarding fixing a day before Conlan was due to fight Russian opponent Vladmir Nikitin on August 16th. At the time Conlon was the World Amateur Bantamweight champion.

…Having been told the bout was already fixed, Hennigan describes his efforts to locate the then Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) president Pat Hickey in order to inform him and try to protect the interests of the Irish boxers.

[Hennigan in his report wrote] “…we tried on numerous occasions to see Pat Hickey to get him to intervene he was never available . . . I finally got to speak to him at an event the following day and explained the problem to him.”

…The OCI said they were unaware of any allegations of match-fixing and had not seen the boxing team manager’s report.

The OCI is not aware of this report and yes would welcome a copy,” said a spokesperson. “The allegations of bout-fixing you refer to from the report are shocking.”

Former OCI president Pat Hickey could not be reached for comment.

Rio report claims Michael Conlan’s 2016 Olympic fight was fixed (Johnny Watterson, The Irish Times)

Pat Hickey

RTE reports:

A court in Brazil has set a date in November for former Olympic Council of Ireland president Pat Hickey’s trial.

The trial will commence on 29 November at 2pm, in Rio de Janeiro, almost a full year after Mr Hickey left Brazil.

He had been forced to remain in Brazil upon his release from prison, after his arrest during last year’s Olympic Games.

Mr Hickey was given permission to return to Ireland last Christmas, on medical grounds, and on payment of a bond of R$1.5million to the courts.

Prosecutor Marcos Kac said last week that if Mr Hickey did not return to Brazil for trial, that his bond would be retained locally.

Rio tickets trial to begin in November (RTE)

Rollingnews

From top: Pat Hickey in Rio last Summer; Shane Ross this morning.

 

“Judge Moran has exposed the stress and frustration caused to athletes, their families and their friends by the OCI’s appointment of a ticketing agent that was nothing other than a charade and totally unfit for purpose

…He [Justice Moran] was not in pursuit of criminality, merely a narrative of events, however unpalatable….

Nothing in this report suggests that individuals in the OCI were benefiting personally from these arrangements.

But clearly commercial interests can never again be afforded priority over the interests of athletes, their friends and families, and ordinary spectators.I regret that the OCI under the leadership of Pat Hickey defined this doctrine.”

Shane Ross at the Transport, Tourism and Sport joint committee meeting this morning.

The ‘rotten culture’ of the OCI under Pat Hickey has been revealed – Shane Ross (Kevin Doyle, Irish Independent)

Tuesday: Let The Games Begin

From top: Shane Ross (right) and Pat Hickey flank Olympic sailor Annalise Murphy at Rio last Summer; from left: OCI President Sarah Keane, Executive Committee Member Lochlann Walsh and Honorary Treasurer Billy Kennedy

This afternoon.

Buswells Hotel, Dublin 2

The Olympic Council of Ireland gives a media briefing on the Judge Moran Report into the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

The IOC, along with their ticket seller Pro 10 and former president Pat Hickey, declined to take part in the inquiry.

Via BBC:

Pro10 was appointed after another reseller, THG, was rejected by the Rio organising committee.

THG was the authorised ticket reseller for the OCI at the Olympic Games at London in 2012 and Sochi in 2014; it was intended by Marcus Evans, who owned THG, and Mr Hickey that it would be the authorised ticket reseller again at Rio 2016.

However, in May 2015, the Rio Organising Committee for the Olympic Games rejected the application of THG for this position.

The Moran Report stated that Pro10 seemed to be little more than a cover for THG – and that Pro 10 was not fit for purpose.

“It might appear that the appointment of Pro10 was to disguise the continuing involvement of Marcus Evans and THG in the sale of tickets in Ireland for the Rio Olympics,” it said.

The invocation of the “right against self-incrimination” by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), THG, Pro10, and Mr Hickey created a major obstacle.

Irish Rio ticket reseller provided ‘chaotic service’ (BBC)

Meanwhile…

FORMER OCI boss Pat Hickey intends to return to international Olympic duties “in due course”.

The Dubliner, who is facing trial in Brazil on charges of ticket touting, has said a judge-led inquiry here found no evidence of criminal activity, adding that his good name has been “cleared”.

Former OCI boss Pat Hickey intends to return to Olympic duties ‘in due course’ (Kevin Doyle, Irish Independent)

Rollingnews

Pat Hickey

Yesterday’s Irish Mail on Sunday

Today’s Irish Independent

Readers may recall the arrest of the former president of the Olympic Council of Ireland Pat Hickey during the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 17 last year.

He was subsequently charged in connection with an alleged ticket touting scheme and spent 12 nights in Bangu prison. Following that, he spent several months in Brazil before he was able to return to Ireland in December.

He now awaits a court date in Brazil.

About a week after Mr Hickey’s arrest, the Government appointed retired judge Mr Justice Carroll Moran to conduct an inquiry into the Olympics ticketing controversy.

It’s being reported that the results of this inquiry will be published within  matter of days.

Further to this…

At the weekend, John Drennan and Valerie Shanley, in the Irish Mail on Sunday, reported:

Transport Minister Shane Ross has warned colleagues to ‘brace themselves’ for the ‘explosive’ report into the Rio ticketing scandal which is expected to be published in the coming days.”

“…The Rio report is being treated with such sensitivity that the Cabinet has still not seen its contents. A spokesman for the Department of Sport refused to comment on the specific day it will be published.

“…one senior source, close to the Cabinet, told the Mail on Sunday: ‘Ross was utterly jittery. He informed the Cabinet that the report’s contents would be explosive. He warned it would be a case of “brace yourselves”.’

Meanwhile…

Further to this…

And Mr Hickey telling Paul Williams in an exclusive interview with Newstalk that he “will be proven innocent” in June…

In today’s Irish Independent…

Kevin Doyle reports on Judge Carroll Moran’s inquiry:

The judge concludes that their [Pat Hickey, the International Olympic Committee and the Rio Organising Committee] failure to take part [in the inquiry] have weakened his ability to prescribe a definitive explanation for the drama.

Instead, he has produced a narrative that branches into criticism of Mr Hickey’s governance of the OCI and an annual honorarium of €60,000.

The judge suggests Mr Hickey ran the OCI as his own little fiefdom, personally using his role as president to oversee arrangements with companies like THG and PRO10 who were at the centre of the ticketing scandal.

The inquiry also had access to the OCI’s financial accounts but failed to find any significant irregularities. There was no evidence to suggest a ‘money trail’ linked to a ticket touting ring.

In effect, the report hammers Mr Hickey reputation but doesn’t find a smoking gun.

The judge has not uncovered any evidence of the criminality that is alleged by the Brazilian authorities.

Revealed: Olympics Chief Pat Hickey is cleared of criminal activity (Irish Independent)

Previously: “I Will Be Proven Innocent”

This morning.

On Newstalk FM.

Paul Williams broadcast a pre-recorded interview with the former former president of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) (above) after the OCI claimed the ticketing scandal, and Mr Hickey’s arrest, has cost the OCI €1.5million to date (top).

In the interview, Mr Hickey outlines what €763,000 of that €1.5million has been spent on, while he’s scathing of how the Minister for Sport Shane Ross and the Irish Government handled, or didn’t handle, his arrest.

In addition, Mr Hickey admits that he has tried to block the publication of the Government’s report into the controversy – by Justice Carroll Moran – which was given to Mr Ross on June 12. Mr Ross has given the report to the Attorney General and is awaiting his advice in regards to publishing it.

Mr Hickey said:

“I saw a draft of the report and my legal team have advised Judge Moran and the minister and the attorney general that this report should not be published until after the court case is heard in Rio. Because anything coming out of it could prejudice my fair trial but even worse still any media reports can also be used by the prosecutor in Brazil against me in the case.”

From the interview…

“I would like to, first of all, say to you Paul that I cannot go into the actual court case in Rio because the case is still in front of the courts so we’re forbidden to go into detail on that but I would be very happy to answer what you said there. The impression has been given that, in the media, that I was the cause of a spend of €1.5million by the OCI [Olympic Council of Ireland].

“Now I can categorically tell you that is not the case because I have been able to check figures and what I’m aware of is as follows, how that €1.5million is made up: the Olympic Council of Ireland got legal advice from Arthur Cox and Co solicitors, which cost them €400,000; they embarked on the Grant Thornton report which cost €214,000; they employed a technology company Espion which was nearly €40,000; they engaged with the Communications Clinic which was €80,000; and the report from Deloitte’s which was €18,000; and Wilson Hartnell, WHPR, €11,000. And that’s the bulk [€763,000] of that €1.5million.”

“Now I can tell you that my legal costs today in Brazil amount to €280,000 and there is an insurance policy in place, that I put in place, over 15 years ago. It’s called directors and officers’ liability and it’s particularly for the something like what happened to me.

“The cover on that policy is €1million, that’s the cap on it so my fees have been taken out of that €1million.

“And can I say, in addition to that, before I left Dublin on the plane for Rio, I left the OCI in a very clean state of health. There was €3million surplus in the bank and a property out in Howth that’s valued at €3million.

“Now I’d like to just emphasise that I am totally innocent of all these charges and I will be proven innocent and my legal team in Brazil are working flat out.”

Listen back to the interview in full here

Previously: How Much?

UPDATE:

patrick-ap-m

Former Olympic Council of Ireland President Pat Hickey

This morning.

A spokesperson for the Olympic Council of Ireland has said it will not be paying the €410,000 bond which Pat Hickey is required to pay as a condition of having his passport returned and being allowed to leave Brazil on medical grounds.

The OCI says it is a personal matter for Mr Hickey….

Harsh.

OCI will not pay Pat Hickey’s €410k court bond (RTÉ)

Pic: AP

delaney

Pat Hickey (left) and John Delaney

The OCI appointed Deloitte to conduct an independent review of the organisation’s governance arrangements last month.

The findings of the report are due for discussion by an OCI Executive Board meeting this week. That meeting could take place as early as tomorrow.

This report was requested on the back of the controversy over the alleged mis-selling of Rio Olympics tickets.

Report on governance of OCI has been completed (RTE)

Surprise as John Delaney steps down as OCI vice-president (Irish Times)

Previously: The Longest Head Start In Fugitive History

‘John Delaney Could Run Anything’

delaney

Over the past number of weeks, the Olympic Council of Ireland Rio Olympics ticketing issue has dominated the headlines and a number of serious allegations were made by a section of the Irish media suggesting involvement and wrong doing on my behalf. These allegations arose out of events in Brazil, in particular the issuing of a warrant against my passport by the Brazilian authorities.

As everyone should now be aware, this warrant was subsequently withdrawn, 10 days ago. In fact, the Brazilian police have never made any contact with me in relation to this issue.

When the issue of the warrant was first publicised in Brazil, certain media outlets took the opportunity to make the most serious and defamatory allegations against me.

My role as CEO of the FAI, it seemed, led to a significantly prominent positioning of this inaccurate and high profile reporting. These matters are now in the hands of my legal advisers and so I cannot comment further on them other than to confirm that I had no knowledge of or involvement in anything to do with tickets for the Rio games…..(more at link below)…

John Delaney, CEO of the Football Association of Ireland

Family fight!

CEO Message To Football Family (FAI)

OCI vice-president John Delaney issues lengthy statement on alleged Rio ticketing scandal (Independent.ie)

Screenshot: FAI