The OCI says that it is a personal matter for Mr Hickey.
After news emerged that Pat Hickey was to have his passport returned and that he’s free to leave Brazil, the attention has turned towards the issue of his €410,000 bond.
As reported by RTE, the OCI will not be paying the €410k because they feel that it’s a personal matter for Mr Hickey. The OCI is currently paying his legal fees.
Hickey faces charges relating to alleged ticket touting, creation of a cartel and ambush or illicit marketing, but he has denied all the allegations made against him.
Earlier this morning, Jonathan Irwin, founder of the Jack & Jill Foundation and a friend of Hickey, spoke to Sean O’Rourke.
Irwin said that he found the arrest to be “the most extraordinary performance about one individual who happens to be our top administrator internationally” and that there was a very noticeable “hatefest that started over here (Ireland) in the media for quite a long time, as if he (Hickey) was the devil incarnate”
Irwin was also critical of Shane Ross and the “pathetic” counsellor assistance that was provided. “I couldn’t believe that Shane Ross, our Minister for Sport, gets on a plane and leaves our top administrator under arrest without going back”, before adding that “whether you like him or you don’t, he has achieved more than any other Irish sports administrator”.
“He didn’t kill anybody, surely it’s humane to give the man, at his age, his passport back. He comes back to Ireland. His career is totally ruined,” he added.
Regarding the charges, Irwin stated that the IOC should pay for his bond because “he’s one of their princes”, before reiterating that “the way that everybody turned just their backs on this man, I though that it was against humanity”.
Here’s the interview in full.
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