IOC ends ethics probe into members with reprimand, warning

By Sven Busch Dec 8, 2011, 20:01 GMT

Lausanne, Switzerland - African football supremo Issa Hayatou was reprimanded and world athletics boss Lamine Diack received a warning as the International Olympic Committee wrapped up a probe against two of its members on Thursday.

The IOC ethics committee launched the investigation after a BBC documentary alleged that they were among sports officials who received kickbacks from now-bankrupt rights holders company ISL in connection with TV rights sales.

Thursday's ruling was made by the IOC executive board, based on the recommendation by the ethics committee.

Veteran IOC member Joao Havelange, 95, who was also probed over the issue, retired from the IOC this week stating health reasons and the fact that his case was closed.

Havelange, who presided over the ruling football body FIFA from 1974-1998, reportedly faced expulsion from the IOC.

IOC president Jacques Rogge compared the sanctions against Hayatou and Diack with a yellow and a red card in football and said he regretted that the IOC had to sanction 'colleagues and friends.'

'The IOC has shown that it is serious. We don't hesitate to take action when it is necessary. The sports world knows that we are responsible and transparent organization,' Rogge said.

FIFA president Joseph Blatter has pledged to make available documents from the ISL trial, but that has been delayed because one suspect is taking legal action against the publication, FIFA said this week.

In another issue on the second and final day of executive board meetings at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, the committee gave London 2012 Olympics organizers the green light to bring the torch relay to the Irish capital of Dublin.

Under new IOC rules, after various attacks on the torch during the international leg of the relay for Beijing 2008, the Olympic flame is now only carried through the host nation after being lit in ancient Olympia, Greece.

The torch for London 2012 is to arrive in Britain on May 18 and will be carried 12,800 kilometres across the country before culminating in the lighting of the cauldron at the July 27 opening ceremony of the Games. The torch is to visit Dublin on June 6.

Read more about Olympics IOC