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Ireland's retired judge to chair non-statutory inquiry into Olympic ticketing row

Xinhua, August 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

Ireland announced on Friday that it will set up a non-statutory inquiry into the Olympic ticketing controversy.

Following a meeting with Attorney General Maire Whelan, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross made the announcement, saying that the inquiry will be chaired by a retired judge who will be appointed next week.

"The objective of the meeting was to make a decision on the options available to us to inquire into events relating to ticketing at the Rio Olympic Games," Ross said at a press briefing.

"We believe that a judge-led non-statutory inquiry is the most appropriate mechanism to establish the facts," he said, adding that the terms of reference for the inquiry will be finalized shortly thereafter.

Earlier, the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) said it will "cooperate fully with any state inquiry into its handling of ticketing arrangements for the Rio Olympics".

"The OCI will now also commission its own independent inquiry into the ticketing arrangements for Rio 2016," it said in a statement.

"The previously announced internal inquiry by the OCI has been discontinued," it added.

In another development, two ticket agencies, Britain's THG Sports and Ireland's Pro10 Sports Management, said they will also cooperate fully with an inquiry into the sale of Olympic tickets in Rio.

"THG wishes to make clear that it would very much welcome such an inquiry and pledges to provide full cooperation in the strong belief that it can demonstrate that the company has acted lawfully at all times," said a statement from THG.

"THG would like to see that an independent inquiry, under the chair of a respected Irish legal figure, be actioned expeditiously," the statement said.

THG is owned by Marcus Evans Group, which also controls English football club Ipswich Town. In 2010, the Olympic Council of Ireland appointed THG as its official ticketing agent for the 2012 London Olympics and the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. THG did not have a permit to sell Irish Olympic tickets for the Rio Games.

Pro10, an authorized Irish ticket reseller, also issued a statement saying that it supports the call for a judge-led inquiry.

"A commission of investigation should be established speedily; investigate all relevant facts and report its conclusions in the shortest possible time. We understand that the terms of any investigation should respect the Brazilian legal process," Pro10 said.

The Irish firm said it is "anxious that the full facts are established and made public as soon as possible so that our good name can be exonerated".

The ticket scandal started when an Irish man called Kevin Mallon, who works for THG Sports, was arrested as the Rio Games began. He was found in possession of around 800 tickets for high-profile sporting events as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. He was accused by Brazilian police of selling the tickets at above face value.

All national Olympic Committees get an allocation of tickets to sell with hospitality through an authorized reseller. Mallon was arrested with some of these tickets from the OCI. Endit