Olympic Council of Ireland President Pat Hickey "has been arrested in Rio de Janeiro in connection with an alleged ticket-touting scam, plunging Irish sport into an embarrassing crisis," according to Vincent Boland of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Brazilian police said in a statement that Hickey "was arrested at his hotel on Wednesday over alleged illegal ticket sales." The OCI said it was "aware of the media stories regarding Mr Hickey and are seeking total clarity on the situation before we comment further." Hickey’s arrest "appears to be an escalation of an investigation into an alleged ticket scam operation involving tickets for the Olympics in Rio, which originated with the OCI" (FT, 8/17). REUTERS reported Hickey "temporarily stepped down from his position as executive board member" on the IOC "after his arrest in connection with a probe into ticket touting at the Rio Games" (REUTERS, 8/17). The BBC reported Hickey "is suspected of being involved in a scheme to sell tickets for higher than their face value." Police said that Hickey "tried to escape when they came for him." They said that he "slid his Olympic pass under the door when police came knocking and fled into the adjacent hotel room, where his son has been staying until recently." Brazilian media believe that Hickey's arrest "is related to that of fellow Irishman Kevin James Mallon" on the day of the Opening Ceremony. Mallon "is the director of THG Sports, a sports hospitality company alleged to have resold tickets for Rio 2016 illegally" (BBC, 8/17). The AP reported IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said that "Hickey was taken to a local hospital by ambulance at about 7:30 a.m." Adams: "We will fully cooperate with the police investigation if there is one. We don't know what the allegations or charges are yet." He said that "the allegations centered on 1,000 tickets belonging to the Irish national Olympic committee, of which Hickey is the president" (AP, 8/17).
