(ATR) The Olympic Council of Ireland denies any involvement in a ticketing scam at the Rio Games after more than 1,000 tickets destined for the black market were seized by police.
Photos of the tickets on display at a Rio police press conference on Monday – a number of them pictured here – show they were an allocation from the NOC. The tickets, including some for the opening ceremony priced $442, were being sold on the black market for inflated prices. It is thought that tickets had already been sold at more than the face value.
Rio police confirmed that Kevin James Mallon, the director of sports hospitality company THG Sports, and his interpreter Barbara Carnieri were arrested in Rio for ticket touting. He was reportedly detained at serviced apartments near the Barra Olympic Park on Friday and faces various charges including false marketing and touting.
"The Olympic Council Of Ireland has no knowledge of the two individuals arrested," an OCI statement sent to Around the Rings said.
"The OCI has launched an immediate investigation with our ATR [authorized ticket reseller] into how the these individuals were allegedly in possession of OCI allocated tickets.
"The OCI strictly adheres to the IOC regulations around ticket allocation, sale and re-sale. We are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness."
The OCI is expected to investigate how the 1,000-plus tickets made their way into the hands of THG Sports, which is owned by Marcus Evans Group. The Olympic Council of Ireland recruited THG as its official ticketing agent for the London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Olympics.
The role of Pro10, the OCI’s ticketing agent for the Rio Games, will come under scrutiny after the ticketing scam was exposed. For Rio, Pro10 was responsible for "selling a range of packages and tickets to residents of Ireland".
THG was embroiled in a World Cup ticketing scandal in 2014 when its chief executive James Sinton was arrested in Rio for involvement in ticket touting linked to the FIFA tournament.
Earlier in the day, Rio Games ticketing chief Donovan Ferreti said a group was established two years ago to tackle the problem of ticket scalping. He said organizers had learned from the London and Sochi Olympics as well as the Brazil 2014 World Cup.
"Because of that we are having much more success," he said, adding "One of the guarantees is to provide a ticket with a fair price. "
In the crackdown on Rio Olympic touts, Ferreti said police had arrested 40 scalpers operating in front of the Olympic Park on Sunday. He added that spotters are being deployed in front of the ticket offices to catch any ticket touts.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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