He’s going to fight the charges…
Pat Hickey has voiced his intention to fight all charges laid against him by the Brazilian court in relation to the alleged touting of tickets at the Rio Olympics.
On Friday, Judge Juliana Leal de Melo from the Special Court for Supporters and Large Events accepted the charges laid against Hickey.
Hickey, along with nine others including Irishman Kevin Mallon from THG Sports, face charges of criminal organisation, ticket touting, ambush marketing, larceny, money laundering, and tax evasion.
It’s understood that the passport of Hickey and Mallon have been retained and they’ve been impeded from leaving Brazil for the time being.
Having stepped down as President of the OCI in the interim, Hickey released a statement where he claimed his innocence of all charges laid against him.
The full statement is below…
“I have just received formal notification from the Brazilian authorities of the charges laid against me.
“For clarity, I am not under house arrest as, like with so many things with this case, has been misreported by the media.
“I intend to face all the charges and to fight each and every one of them.
“I am completely innocent of all such charges and I will also vigorously defend my good name and character that I have spent my lifetime building through voluntary service for numerous sporting bodies.
“I believe in the Brazilian judicial system and I am confident that I will be discharged of all accusations.
“This has been a life changing experience for me, my wife, my 4 children and my 5 grandchildren and my priority is to recover my health and see my family as soon as possible.
“I have been very heartened and humbled by the outpouring of support, letters, texts and emails from the thousands of people in Ireland and from the international sporting world.
“I will be making no further comment until the case has been concluded.”
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
