14 September 2017

Irish government agrees to reimburse OCI after Rio ticket scandal

The Irish government has agreed to reimburse the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) for funding withdrawn in August last year, after allegations of corruption regarding the ticketing process for the Rio 2016 Olympics. In 2015, government funding was worth €303,178 to the OCI.

‘I am satisfied that the outstanding funding for 2016 was spent on athlete related activities and is in order for reimbursement’, said Minister for Sport, Shane Ross, in a statement. ‘With regard to funding for 2017 onwards, I will engage with the OCI and Sport Ireland in joint pursuit of continued progress in the months ahead’.

On 14 August 2017, the Moran Report (PDF below) found that the OCI and ticketing agent THG Sports had colluded to create a new company, Pro10 Sports Management, to become the Authorised Ticket Reseller (ATR) for the 2016 Rio Olympics after organisers rejected the OCI/THG application. The Report found that although Pro10 claimed to have ‘vast experience in arranging tours for clubs and their supporters across Europe’, Pro10 was only registered as a business name by Kmepro Ltd. on 20 May 2015. Kmepro Ltd. was only incorporated on 28 April 2015.

The Rio Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (ROCOG) rejected the IOC/THG application on 13 March 2015, citing allegations that THG had offering hospitality packages to the FIFA 2014 World Cup Brazil in breach of the Ticket Seller Agreement (TSA). The OCI has a contract with THG for it to be the ticket seller to the Olympic Games until 2020. On 30 April 2015, former President of the OCI, Pat Hickey, sent the following email to Marcus Evans of THG Sports:

‘I had an off-the-record chat with Legal guy at the I.O.C. and I think it’s very unlikely that the I.O.C. would have the legal capacity to force Rio to appoint T.H.G. as sub-Agents. So, therefore, I do not think this is going to happen. We have to put our thinking caps on as to how T.H.G. could operate. If the N.O.C. of Ireland becomes the A.T.R., how could it operate then for us to pass on the tickets on to yourself without causing more problems? Is there another Agent who you could use as a sub Agent with whom you have a good relationship with and you could operate through them…’

The offices for Pro10 Management were based on the other side of Dublin from the OCI, and it did not list any clients other than the OCI on its internet site, which was taken down after the Rio Games. THG Sports still lists the OCI as one of its partners on its internet site, and media reports suggest that the OCI’s relationship with THG has resumed and it will be ATR for the 2018 and 2020 Olympics. Hickey denied any ongoing relationship with THG in this video.

‘Contrary to the letter and spirit of this ticketing scheme and the said distinction between the two types of tickets, the O.C.I. entered into arrangements to provide N.O.C. Family Tickets to Pro10 for onward sale to the public. (See Chapter 6.6.)’, concluded the Report. ‘This arrangement in relation to Rio2016 resulted in the transfer of at least 178 N.O.C. Family Tickets to Pro10, a number of which were to high- demand events, including sixty-six tickets to the Athletics’ Finals (See Chapter 6.6.). Also contrary to the letter and spirit of the said ticketing scheme, the agreement signed by Patrick Hickey and Pro10, dated the 22nd June 2015, specified that the US$ 100,000 rights fee is subject to Pro10 receiving from the O.C.I. certain N.O.C. Family Tickets for premium events. This transfer of N.O.C. Family Tickets to Pro10 for high-demand events had the effect of allowing them the potential of making further returns.’

‘As can be seen from Chapter Six, for both the London and Rio Games arrangements and agreements were made for the exchange of tickets between the O.C.I. and the respective A.T.R.s, T.H.G. for London and Pro10 for Rio’, continues the Report. ‘In addition agreements were made for the payment of premiums, in excess of the rights fees, for additional tickets to Ceremony or Blue Riband events. Accordingly, as a result of the aforementioned exchange of tickets and the said payment of premiums, there should have been a balancing amount paid to the O.C.I. Such payments do not appear in the accounts provided to the Inquiry and the absence of any reconciliation statements and supporting documentation is of some concern.’

The Moran Report also found that a number of Rio 2016 Olympic tickets were kept in a safe at the OCI offices within the Olympic Village. ‘As of the 20th of August 2016, there was a total of 223 unused tickets’, reads the Report. ‘As can be seen from the list, while the majority of the tickets were indicated to be N.O.C. Family Tickets, fifty-two of them were indicated to be A.T.R. General Public tickets’. 

On 17 August 2016, Hickey was arrested by Brazilian authorities investigating how hundreds of OCI tickets ended up in the possession of four men connected to THG Sports. Hickey was among ten people charged by Brazilian prosecutors in connection with the case.

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