In light of a ticket scalping scandal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games involving IOC executive board member Patrick Hickey, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will cooperate with the Brazilian authorities in their investigation. Their statement of cooperation comes after IOC President Thomas Bach missed the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in Rio, where police wanted to interview him about the case.
Hickey, the President of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI), was arrested during the Rio Olympics as police suspected him of attempting to resell Olympic tickets at higher than face value. He was then brought to a hospital by Rio police as a precautionary measure after making complaints of health concerns. Following his discharge from the hospital, Hickey’s appeal for bail was denied, and he was moved to Bangu maximum security prison.
A Brazilian police investigator said the authorities want to interview Bach about emails between him and Hickey regarding the allocation of tickets to Ireland.
The IOC says that Bach cancelled his plans to go to the opening ceremony, instead traveling to Germany to attend a mourning ceremony for former West German President Walter Scheel. Should he return to Brazil for the Paralymics, Bach would be subpoenaed as a witness.
Now we know why the IOC wanted all the attention on Lochte…
Bach will be noticeable by his absence if he misses the closing ceremonies too. FIFA’s Sepp Blatter never leaves Switzerland anymore for fear of arrest.