IOC to take no action over ticket sales before Games

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will not punish anyone ahead of the London Games over allegations that some national Olympic officials were breaking strict rules on selling tickets for the Games, the IOC Executive Board decided on Saturday. The IOC Ethics Commission has been investigating claims made in the Sunday Times newspaper that national Olympic committees (NOCs) and authorised ticket resellers (ATRs) had been caught selling thousands of top tickets to the Games on the black market for up to 10 times their face value. The British broadsheet said it had found "widespread corruption" reaching across 54 countries and had passed its evidence to the IOC. The IOC pledged to take the "strongest sanctions" possible if members were found to have broken the rules". However, after discussing the matter on Saturday, it was decided that there was not enough time to decide on each individual case ahead of the start of the Games next Friday. "The Ethics Commission has received initial evidence from the newspaper and noted that each individual case merits a detailed analysis involving the hearing of all parties," said the Executive Board (EB). "Particularly with regard to the existence of deliberate intent to breach the various rules that govern the sale of tickets for the Olympic Games. "As a result the EB approved the recommendation from the Ethics Commission that it continue its investigation as it is currently not in a position to recommend provisional measures ahead of the London 2012 Games." IOC president Jacques Rogge speaking later explained why it was taking a long time to come to a decision over whether they were unlawfully sold or not. "Our ethics commission met with a representative of The Sunday Times and asked for the evidence that was provided by the Sunday Times after two weeks waiting," said Rogge. "This is a huge file with more than 20 people involved and also a lot of organisations, you know, commercial tickets resellers. "The rights of the defence require everyone to have the chance to explain (their) case, so there will be interviews with all these people and we expect the results of that probably by the end of September, beginning of October, because it's a huge work to have everyone and to question and answers." Rogge added that following the Games there would be an inquiry and that 2014 Winter Games hosts Sochi had been advised not to go ahead and sell any tickets until the investigation had been concluded. Many British fans have been left disappointed after being unable to secure the Olympics seats they wanted, in the several rounds of official ticket sales. The Sunday Times report said the London Games organisers' decision to release 1.2 million tickets -- more than ever before -- to foreign NOCs had allowed agents and officials to flood the black market with seats for highly sought-after events. IOC rules say that NOCs must keep their supply of tickets within their country. They can distribute the tickets themselves or nominate ATRs, who must be approved. It is against the rules for any seller to inflate the price of a ticket by more than 20 percent of its face value, or trade tickets with unauthorised dealers, the report said.