We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Updated at 5.35pm
SPORTS MINISTER SHANE Ross has criticised a number of key figures for their failure to engage fully with the probe into the Rio Olympics ticketing controversy.
The 226-page report into the ticketing scandal has been published online this afternoon.
The non-statutory inquiry sought to establish the “policies, procedure, processes and practices” of ticket distribution adopted by the Olympic Council of Ireland, not just in Rio, but going back to London 2012, and also including the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.
Former Olympic Council of Ireland chief executive Pat Hickey; Pro10 Sports Management, which was the ticket re-seller for the OCI; ticket re-seller THG, and the International Olympic Committee all come in for criticism from Judge Carroll Moran, who headed up the investigation.
He wrote that the inquiry respects the claim of “a right against self-incrimination” and “recognises the need to invoke this plea by a party facing serious allegations in another forum”.
“Nonetheless the invocation of this plea by the International Olympic Committee, Pro10, THG and Patrick Hickey has created a major obstacle for the Inquiry.
This failure by so many principal participants to engage with the Inquiry has imposed a major impediment in the preparation of this Report.
Judge Moran wrote that the inquiry “was barred direct access to the details of ticketing, some or all of which were within the knowledge of Pro10, THG and [Rio local organising committee] ROCOGT”.
“The provenance and destination of each ticket and the consideration given for them
at each step in their journey were never revealed to the Inquiry.
A general history was given to the Inquiry by some of the participants but, inevitably, not in the necessary detail. This has substantially undermined the ability of the Inquiry to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the facts.
Pat Hickey response
In a statement, Pat Hickey said that the report contained “significant inaccuracies”. Despite this, he said: “I am pleased to see my reputation and good name have been cleared in that there is no allegation of (1) Criminality and (2) Financial Impropriety”.
According to Hickey, the launching and conducting of an inquiry while proceedings were still outstanding in Brazil “was ill-conceived arising from an inability on the part of participants to partake in the inquiry based on legal advice”.
“For my part I was advised by eminent lawyers in Brazil, solicitors and Senior Counsel in Ireland not to participate in the Inquiry pending the outcome of the Brazilian proceedings as I was advised it could and would prejudice my entitlement to a fair trial in Brazil and my vindicating my constitutional entitlements and innocence.”
His legal advice had, he said, been forwarded to Judge Moran, the attorney general and Minister Ross.
His two-and-a-half page response statement continued:
The report contains significant flaws and inaccurate assumptions. Because of the ongoing trial in Brazil now is not the time to address these serious inaccuracies, in time I propose on the proclamation of my innocence to address all issues.
Regrettably the Moran Inquiry has failed to include the full suite of correspondence between my solicitors and the Moran Inquiry that addressed all of the issues in dispute.
Hickey said he acted “at all times” in the best interests of the Olympic Council of Ireland “with a view to maximising revenue for the Olympic Council of Ireland which in turn was channelled into the management of current and future Olympic athletes in Ireland”.
His statement concluded:
I await the outcome of legal procedures in Brazil and regrettably I and my family are frustrated by the delays in the process which are outside my control. However, my legal team and I remain totally confident that I will be cleared of all charges in Brazil. I look forward in due course to resuming my international Olympic duties.
OCI
In its response, the current executive board of the OCI said that it was already addressing most of the issues raised.
President Sarah Keane said that the OCI has cooperated at all points with the investigation.
“There are a lot of things that we need to fix,” she told reporters today.
“We are in the process of doing so and we are committed to doing so.
And these will in the long-run make to organisation better, stronger, more transparent and indeed more strategic.
She said that there was no doubt that the reputation of the Olympics in Ireland had been damaged.
In relation to Hickey’s comments that he was looking forward to resuming his Olympic duties, Keane said it was a matter for the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
She said that if Hickey was cleared of criminal wrongdoing, he would likely still have to face an ethics commission at the IOC before he would be allowed to rejoin the organisation.
“Pat Hickey is not a current member of our board. If he is reinstated as an IOC member he will be entitled to be involved in our board,” she said.
However, she said that Hickey had previously said that he was finished with his domestic Olympic duties.
‘Regrettable’
Shane Ross said the report, which he welcomed as being “comprehensive and insightful”, was compiled “despite the failure of a number of the key parties to co-operate with the Inquiry, in direct contradiction to public statements in the immediate aftermath of the Rio controversy last August”.
“It is regrettable that the parties concerned chose not to assist Judge Moran in his inquiries,” he said.
“I believe that if they had co-operated this report would be more complete.
“I understand that those parties have the right not to incriminate themselves.
“Judge Moran recognises in his Report that this was a legitimate position for them to take.
I do not believe that it has fundamentally undermined the value and benefit of the insights that we now have as a result of Judge Moran’s careful analysis.
The report published this afternoon does not recommend a statutory Commission of Investigation be carried out – noting that it is “reasonable to suppose that, because of the change of personnel on its Executive Committee, meaningful reform is now under consideration within the OCI”.
Judge Moran found “a palpable sense of openness is evident in the affairs of the O.C.I. since the election of the new Executive Committee in February 2017″ and recommended it “would disproportionate in terms of the cost of time and money to establish a Commission of Investigation”.
The inquiry was not investigating potential criminality – but aimed to, as Minister Ross put it in his statement, “establish available facts and to limit the damage to Ireland’s reputation in the international sporting world and to encourage whatever measures are required to reform the OCI and restore our global standing”.
He said he had confidence in the new OCI “both the new Council and its President, Sarah Keane, to fully implement the reforms set out in the 25 recommendations made in the Deloitte Report [which was completed last year], which Judge Moran had endorsed”.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie in an interview carried out last Thursday, Ross left the door open for a potential statutory inquiry, but indicated it was unlikely.
“It took three months, then it took another three months, and then another, so he [Judge Moran] kept asking for more time… there were obviously obstacles which came up. It was because it was cheaper and quicker that we went that route and we left our options open to have a statutory one, which, by the way, is still there. We can always still hold one.”
Comments are closed due to ongoing legal proceedings.
With reporting from Cormac Fitzgerald
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say