Serbia trashes British reports on Olympics tickets sales
June 19th, 2012 - 6:18 pm ICT by IANSBelgrade (Serbia), June 19 (IANS) Serbian Olympic Committee (OKS)secretary general Djordje Visacki said there was no basis for British media claims that OKS officials had sold tickets for the London Olympics on the black market.
“There is no basis for that,” Visacki told Serbian news agency Tanjug.
The ticket sales for the Olympics are conducted exclusively through the official distributor in the country, who has a contract with the organiser of the Games, Visacki said.
“The only tickets the OKS comes into contact with are the ones meant for athletes, federations and sponsors of the OKS. So, the OKS is in no position to sell tickets,” he stressed.
The story with the abuses regarding ticket sales was started by The Sunday Times, whose reporters claim they have evidence against 27 officials who distribute tickets from 54 countries, including agents from Serbia and Lithuania, and that they offered tickets for 6,000 pounds, reported Xinhua.
“I have been unpleasantly surprised by the reports in The Sunday Times, and especially by the way my words were put into a completely improper context. The OKS is at the moment in constant contact with the International Olympic Committee, and we are going to react concerning this based on instructions from the International Olympic Committee (IOC),” Visacki stressed.
He suspects this is an attempt to disturb the atmosphere in the Serbian team for the Olympics.
“We are, unfortunately, already used to Serbia being presented in a negative context in foreign media. This time even sport, as definitely the best thing Serbia can offer when competing with the world, was represented in such a way. This is a way to disturb the atmosphere in the Serbian team for the Olympics, but the OKS will certainly not allow that to put our athletes at a disadvantage,” he added.
The IOC has held an urgent meeting because of British media accusations that officials from 50 national Olympic committees, including Serbia’s, had sold tickets for the Olympic Games in London on the black market.
The tickets include those for the most sought after events, like the 100m sprint.
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Tags: accusations, atmosphere, constant contact, games, international olympic committee, ioc, lithuania, london olympics, national olympic committees, news agency, olympics, secretary general, serbian, sunday times, ticket sales, xinhua