EOC Affirms Support for Patrick Hickey

(ATR) The European Olympic Committees continue to grapple with a leadership crisis in the absence of elected president Patrick Hickey and the future site for the second European Games. Solutions for both appear to remain elusive.

In the absence of Hickey, who remains in Brazil awaiting trial following his arrest August 17 in Rio de Janeiro on charges of illegal sale of Olympic tickets, EOC interim president Janez Kocijančič presided over the third executive committee meeting of 2016 in Bratislava on Friday.

Kocijančič said that the EOC members believe in Hickey’s innocence and support their former leader, who has resigned from all of his Olympic functions in the wake of charges in Rio.

"Today the EOC Executive Committee unanimously confirmed our shared belief that Patrick Hickey is innocent and the EOC is exploring ways in which we can help him to prove this and to completely clear his name and return to his family and Olympic duties," Kocijančič said.

The EOC meeting at the Sheraton Hotel Bratislava is the second that the Slovenian Kocijančič had led, also stepping in for Hickey on Aug. 29. Friday’s meeting lasted nearly five hours, almost an hour-and-a-half more than was initially scheduled. British Olympic Association chairman Sebastian Coe was the only executive board member not in attendance.

Kocijančič maintains that the second edition of the European Games, which were championed by Hickey, will go ahead in June 2019. He said that two countries are now being considered to host the Games and a final decision is hopeful at next month’s 45th EOC General Assembly in Minsk, Belarus. Around the Rings has learned that Minsk, which hosted the 2014 World Hockey Championships, is one of the cities being considered.

"Despite the absence of our elected President, the EOC is operating as normal and is pressing forwards in all departments and with all projects," Kocijančič said. "The 2019 European Games is our absolute priority and every Executive Committee member is united behind our course of action."

If a verdict cannot be reached in Minsk, then the EOC would likely have to convene an extraordinary session. Baku hosted the inaugural edition in 2015, and the Netherlands was next in line, but backed out over financial concerns. Hickey then entered into discussion with and cited Russia as the next host, but the country’s doping issues foiled those plans.

According to Kocijančič, discussions with the various European Sport Federations are ongoing as the European Games sport program is still yet to be finalized.

Kocijančič and board members also confirmed that the 2017 European Winter Youth Olympic Festival in Ezurum, Turkey, will go ahead as planned, Feb. 11-18. This decision was taken despite members expressing security concerns considering the June 28 airport attack at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul and recent political upheaval in the country.

"Everything is going well with the Turkish organizers," Kocijančič said. "The European Youth Olympic Festival will be in Ezurum."

Board members are contemplating transporting the youth athletes by chartered flights into Turkey, but finances remain an issue.

Sixteen-hundred young athletes between the ages of 14-18 representing 49 European NOC’s are expected to take part in 10 winter sports. Ezurum also hosted the 2011 Winter Universiade.

Finally, a new European Olympic Committees logo was approved and will be officially unveiled next month in Minsk. The aim is to bring recognition and identity as the logo will be uniform across all EOC meetings and competitions.

Written by Brian Pinelli

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