Dispute could jeopardise London bid

OLYMPICS: Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) president Pat Hickey believes that an escalation of the dispute between the OCI and their counterparts in Britain, the British Olympic Association (BOA), could hurt London's bid to stage the 2012 Olympic Games.

Yesterday, Hickey also expressed astonishment that the BOA had declined to meet the OCI's request to change what the Irish body believes is an amendment to a document called the Team Members Agreement.

The final draft of the BOA's Team Members Agreement refers to the Athens Olympic team as Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In the OCI's eyes, this is an annexation of Northern Ireland and a repudiation of what former International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Lord Killanin enshrined in the OCI and IOC almost 40 years ago. Killanin constituted the OCI as a 32-county body after the Irish team of the 1948 games in London marched under the name of Eire.

"Calling the team Great Britain and NI has huge consequences," said Hickey.

"We find it extraordinary why they are undertaking this high risk venture now. This could affect the London bid.

"My colleagues around the world would see it as our own neighbours beating us with a big stick. Absolutely, they would look on this with distaste. There is no doubt about this. I think it's a terrible own goal. And we've given them so many opportunities (to change)."

Both Hickey and the BOA agree that relationships between the two National Olympic Committees have been excellent over the years and that no acrimony has ever arisen over athletes choosing to walk behind one flag or another. Wayne McCullough from Belfast historically boxed to a silver medal for Ireland in the 1992 games, while Belfast's Mary Peters won gold for Britain in the 1972 Olympic pentathlon.

The current Deputy Chief Executive of the BOA, Stephen Martin, from Bangor, captained the Irish hockey team (32-county body) but for the Olympics represented Britain, where he won a bronze medal in Los Angeles in 1984 and a gold four years later in Seoul.

BOA officials yesterday appeared somewhat bemused by the ferocity of the OCI's attack on what they believe is an agreement that has been in place since before the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter games where Ireland fielded competitors.

They also claim that it makes no real difference and their intention is to maintain the status quo for the benefit of both Ireland and Britain. But there appears to be no backing down from the position that has drawn the ire of the OCI and in a largely conciliatory statement released yesterday confirmed their stance.

"For decades this complex structure has been allowed to operate for the benefit of sport in Northern Ireland. Unbeknown to each other both the OCI and BOA have constitutions approved by the IOC acknowledging territorial responsibility for Northern Ireland."

Simon Clegg, the BOA's chief Executive hit the same soft notes. "We shall continue an open dialogue with the OCI on all Olympic matters and look forward to working with them to maintain the status quo for the benefit of sport in Northern Ireland," he said.

"I am extremely happy with the way in which the BOA and OCI have worked together to ensure that no sportsmen or sportswomen from Northern Ireland have been disadvantaged when it comes to Olympic representation. I see no reason why this should not continue."

But Hickey is far from impressed. "We hit this by accident when we were updating athletes contracts for the games. We got them from the legal department of the BOA, which shows you how closely we work together. Dermot Sherlock (OCI secretary) spotted it. Clegg said that their statutes were approved by the IOC. I have been able to establish that the new statutes have not been approved by the IOC," he said.

Given Hickey's position as an IOC committee member, which puts him in the international body's inner sanctum, as well as a high ranking officer in a body that represents all of the European Olympic Associations, his ability to lobby at a high level is proven.

"Ours is very clearly the OCI and not the Olympic Council of the Republic of Ireland. That goes back to the Killanin times. We even checked with John O'Donoghue's (Minister for Sport) office and we were advised to inform the Department of Foreign Affairs to ensure we were doing nothing wrong," said Hickey.

"The BOA are now amazed that this has come out in the fashion that it did. I established that statutes were not approved, one on Gibraltar and the other Northern Ireland. The Spanish also seem to have a problem.

"The practical end is that if this is left then Northern Ireland athletes may not qualify for the Olympics because it is much more difficult to do so from Britain. While the situation was rough up North, we were regularly going away to Games with 15 to 20 per cent of our athletes from there (NI). To rock that boat is insane. We are not going to lose that. I'm aware of people in corridors of power in Luasanne (IOC headquarters) . . ."

But could it damage the London bid? "It is too early yet to say. It could go into the domain of politics and that won't be a good thing," said Hickey.

According to British officials, a new lawyer came into the BOA after the Olympic Games in Sydney and ratified the constitution of the BOA. For legal reasons it had already been changed back in 1981.

The change was deemed a legality to clarify the BOA constitution to include Northern Ireland. The Team Member Agreement, they maintain, was then brought up to date more than two years ago.

However complex the issue, it seems now that the row will become politicised with both sides disagreeing over the importance of the Team Members Agreement and the OCI believing it critical to the breadth of their constituency.

"They could lay claim to Northern Ireland athletes," says Hickey. "Two (British officials) approached me for the London bid. They court you and then something like this comes up."