IOC: A missed chance

By Sven Busch Dec 9, 2011, 10:52 GMT

Lausanne, Switzerland - IOC President Jacques Rogge stood his ground and refused to allow any personal feelings show - just as he always does when it comes to sensitive legal matters.

His organization showed that it was serious about clearing up allegations of corruption, Rogge said simply.

However, the sanctions taken against IOC members Issa Hayatou (Cameroon) and Lamine Diack (Senegal) seem more like a foul-smelling compromise than a real attempt to hand out justice.

A third IOC member, the 95-year-old Joao Havelange, avoided being expelled from the IOC by resigning shortly before the ethics hearing announced its findings.

The IOC ethics committee launched an investigation into the three 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.

And although their involvement has been documented and their statements in relation to their involvement were questioned, the IOC only issued a reprimand for the president of Africa's football body CAF, Hayatou and a warning for the president of the world athletic federation IAAF, Diack.

A 12 month investigation by the IOC ethics committee came to the conclusion that Hayatou and Diack had received payments from ISL at a time when neither were IOC members.

That, according to Rogge, had been a mitigating factor.

'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 a responsible and transparent organization,' the Belgian said.

Hayatou, who has been an IOC member since 2001, admitted that he received 24,700 Swiss franc (26,700 dollars) from IOC in 1995. He said it had been a contribution towards CAF's 40-year-anniversary celebrations.

However, the receipt he showed the IOC had been dated from March this year and it was thus no longer possible to ascertain whether the money had really gone to CAF or not.

His reprimand was justified because of the conflict of interest and the resultant damage to the IOC's reputation as a result.

Rogge compared the sanction against Hayatou with a red card in football.

However, unlike football, where a red card is followed by a suspension, Hayatou retains all his rights as an IOC member.

Like Hayatou, Diack put forward an explanation. In 1993 - on exactly April 22, July 23 and November 19 - he received three payments from ISL totalling 58,880 francs.

Diack claimed that the money had been given to him to help him rebuild his house which burnt down on March 13 of the same year.

The IOC regarded the fact that ISL signed a marketing contract with the IAAF on June 22, 1993 as a conflict of interest, but again ruled that there was a mitigating factor: In this case Diack's burnt-down house.

Rogge went even further, saying that a warning is not a sanction.

At the end of the lengthy investigation it would thus appear that the IOC failed to show their seriousness in working through the past.

The findings against Havelange, who is said to have received 1,5 million francs, are being kept under wraps by the IOC. Havelange is denying the accusations and for Rogge the matter is closed - as closed as the awkward round-table press conference was declared after just 15 minutes by IOC Communications Director Mark Adams.

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