Drunk and/or crooked take your pick-and then he tries to claim he's 'sick' when he's arrested God Almighty what a puke
Irish Olympic head Pat Hickey arrested in alleged ticket touting inquiry
• Hickey reportedly became ill during Rio arrest and taken to hospital
The Irish International Olympic Committee member Pat Hickey has been arrested in Rio as part of a police investigation into alleged ticketing touting, according to reports.
The 71-year-old, who until last week sat on the IOC executive board, is also the head of the European Olympic Committees that organised last year’s controversial European Games in Baku.
According to the Brazilian newspaper Estadão, which was responsible for a similar investigation during the 2014 World Cup, Hickey was arrested at the “Olympic Family Hotel” in Rio’s Barra da Tijuca by police early on Wednesday morning.
The Estadão journalist Jamil Chade, who posted a picture of police carrying away Hickey’s accreditation on his Twitter feed, reported that Hickey was taken to hospital after “feeling sick” at the time of his arrest. Police said Hickey is accused of plotting with at least six others to illegally sell tickets for the Olympics.
Last week, police made a series of arrests of individuals linked to THG, a company that held the rights to resell tickets for the 2012 and 2014 Olympics through the Olympic Committee of Ireland.
THG is owned by the owner of Ipswich Town, Marcus Evans, and the company’s director, Kevin James Mallon, was among those arrested. Police said they seized over 1,000 tickets being sold for well above the asking price, including some bearing the name of the Olympic Committee of Ireland. A translator hired by THG, Barbara Carnieri, was also arrested.
Police claimed the tickets were mainly for events such as the opening and closing ceremonies and stood to net THG a profit of $10m. Around 40 other touts have also been arrested by police during the Games.
In 2012, the former Brazilian footballer turned senator and longstanding critic of Fifa and the IOC, Romario, filed a request with the ministry of sport to investigate Hickey, who denied any wrongdoing.
A former black belt judoka, Hickey has been the head of the Irish Olympic Committee since 1989 and an IOC member since 2005.
He has been involved in several controversies, including the European Games which were criticised by human rights organisations for the way they were used as a tool to clamp down on freedom of speech.
Irish Olympic head Pat Hickey arrested in alleged ticket touting inquiry
• Hickey reportedly became ill during Rio arrest and taken to hospital
The Irish International Olympic Committee member Pat Hickey has been arrested in Rio as part of a police investigation into alleged ticketing touting, according to reports.
The 71-year-old, who until last week sat on the IOC executive board, is also the head of the European Olympic Committees that organised last year’s controversial European Games in Baku.
According to the Brazilian newspaper Estadão, which was responsible for a similar investigation during the 2014 World Cup, Hickey was arrested at the “Olympic Family Hotel” in Rio’s Barra da Tijuca by police early on Wednesday morning.
The Estadão journalist Jamil Chade, who posted a picture of police carrying away Hickey’s accreditation on his Twitter feed, reported that Hickey was taken to hospital after “feeling sick” at the time of his arrest. Police said Hickey is accused of plotting with at least six others to illegally sell tickets for the Olympics.
Last week, police made a series of arrests of individuals linked to THG, a company that held the rights to resell tickets for the 2012 and 2014 Olympics through the Olympic Committee of Ireland.
THG is owned by the owner of Ipswich Town, Marcus Evans, and the company’s director, Kevin James Mallon, was among those arrested. Police said they seized over 1,000 tickets being sold for well above the asking price, including some bearing the name of the Olympic Committee of Ireland. A translator hired by THG, Barbara Carnieri, was also arrested.
Police claimed the tickets were mainly for events such as the opening and closing ceremonies and stood to net THG a profit of $10m. Around 40 other touts have also been arrested by police during the Games.
In 2012, the former Brazilian footballer turned senator and longstanding critic of Fifa and the IOC, Romario, filed a request with the ministry of sport to investigate Hickey, who denied any wrongdoing.
A former black belt judoka, Hickey has been the head of the Irish Olympic Committee since 1989 and an IOC member since 2005.
He has been involved in several controversies, including the European Games which were criticised by human rights organisations for the way they were used as a tool to clamp down on freedom of speech.