Former International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Dr Kevin O'Flanagan yesterday denied he had breached IOC guidelines during the bidding for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. O'Flanagan, a dual Irish rugby and soccer international who is now an honorary IOC member with no voting rights, was yesterday named in an independent report as having breached the guidelines.
The report, compiled by former South Australian auditor-general Tom Sheridan, states that O'Flanagan travelled with his brother from Dublin to London for the Wimbledon tennis championship finals in 1992. It also states that the Sydney bid paid for Flanagan's accommodation costs and for theatre tickets during his stay.
"I've been to Wimbledon many times with many people over the years. There has been no breach of IOC guidelines," said Flanagan yesterday. "I'm quite sure about that. When I think of all the people who were involved in those scandals . . . the Irish are above all that. They (those offering bribes) know that and that is why the Irish have never been approached.
"I've had no notification of this and I would expect to be notified. That's the way they do things. If I'm named I'm unhappy about it, but I don't see that it is of any relevance. I haven't heard a word about the report you are mentioning. I thought the whole thing had been cleared up about Sydney."
Sheridan, speaking in the Sydney Morning Herald, said: "In my view these trips are apparent breaches of the guidelines which prohibits the giving of benefits (direct or indirect) or liberalities in excess of a total of $200.
"If it could be said that the taking of these trips were designed and likely to lead the bid company to believe that the trips would assist in securing the votes of the IOC members concerned, or that taking them was an abuse of power, position or influence by an IOC member, misconduct might be involved."
The Olympic Council of Ireland, of which O'Flanagan is an honorary vice-president, said it was not a matter for their concern.
"We have not been informed about this and would not expect to be informed," said a spokesman. "The Olympic Council of Ireland, the IOC and National Olympic bodies are all separate organisations. As an IOC member anything would be private and confidential to Kevin (O'Flanagan). He doesn't have day-to-day dealings with the Olympic Council of Ireland."
The Sheridan report said that Sydney made numerous technical breaches of IOC rules in its bid to host the 2000 games, but that there was no bribery or corruption. The breaches concerned the value of gifts provided to visiting IOC members, the duration of trips and assistance in seeking jobs to IOC members families.
About 15 IOC members and sports officials exceeded the $200 limit by accepting side-trips to Paris, Bangkok and other destinations on their way to and from Sydney, breaking the five-day visit limit. Other breaches included trips for IOC members to tennis events in Europe, including Wimbledon and the French Open in Paris.
The report also found that the bid company wrote to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Immigration to sort out problems encountered a Romanian IOC member whose relatives were trying to emigrate to Australia.
Sheridan's five-week investigation, which involved the inspection of around 3,000 documents relating to the bid and interviewing 13 members of the bidding team, was highly critical of IOC guidelines. He described them as deficient, ambiguous and full of loopholes, adding that the IOC itself had to take much of the blame for failing to police them. The report also details how Sydney avoided breaching IOC guidelines by promising national Olympic committees, particularly in Africa, expensive training programmes for their athletes. The agreements cost almost $2 million, which was apparently paid for by the bid company after Sydney had been secured as the venue for 2000. The IOC is expected to consider Sheridan's report on Friday, where a meeting is scheduled in Lusanne, Switzerland.
