Rio ticket probe extends to previous Games

FORMER High Court judge Carroll Moran has been appointed to head the investigation into the Irish Olympic ticket scandal in Rio and will also probe sales for the 2012 Games in London.

Irish Sports Minister Shane Ross on Wednesday announced that Moran would take up his position immediately and said the independent investigation will look at ticketing for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2012 London Olympics, as well as this month’s Rio Games.

Four of Ireland’s top Olympic officials have been barred from leaving Brazil as police expand their investigation into the alleged illegal sale of tickets for the Games.

Three Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) officials had their passports, phones and laptops seized by Brazilian police as the Games wrapped up on Sunday, following the earlier arrest of president Pat Hickey.

Rio police investigating the controversy wanted to question Ireland team leader Kevin Kilty, chief executive Stephen Martin and secretary general Dermot Henihan.

They later ruled out Henihan’s involvement in the alleged scheme, saying there was no evidence, after he appeared at police headquarters on Tuesday.

Kilty and Martin have yet to be questioned, while Hickey, 71, was detained at a Rio hotel on Wednesday.

Rio police said Hickey, who has denied any wrongdoing and has stepped aside as president, was formally accused under Brazilian law of ticket touting, running a cartel and illicit marketing.

Irishman Kevin Mallon, a director of THG Sports, which specialises in corporate and sports hospitality and is owned by Ipswich Town owner Marcus Evans, has been in custody in Brazil since August 5 over the affair.

Mallon was arrested after police seized Olympic tickets in a Rio hotel, some of which were part of the Irish allocation and some for the opening and closing ceremonies and the football final.

The authorised ticket reseller contracted by the OCI is Dublin-based PRO10 Sports Management.

THG and PRO10 have denied any wrongdoing over ticket sales.

The non-statutory inquiry’s work should be completed in 12 weeks after it looks into the receipt, distribution and sale of tickets allocated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to national Olympic committees.