Rio 2016 officials formally lodged a compliant to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Wednesday following a report that an official from Madrid 2016 criticized the city.
Spanish Olympic Committee vice president Jose Maria Odriozola reportedly called Rio “the worst bid” of the four candidates.
Spanish news agency Efe reports Odriozola said Rio’s standing as one of the favourites for Friday’s vote comes down to marketing and sentimentality and security remains an issue. He also reportedly said, “at this point the IOC is not going to risk it and take the Games to a site where it doesn’t have total confidence that it can be done well”.
Rio 2016 organizers issued a statement saying the criticism was “totally unacceptable. This gentleman is clearly out of step with the report of the IOC’s own Evaluation Commission”.
Rio’s complaint is being directed to French lawyer Paquerette Girard Zappelli, secretary to the eight-member ethics panel which monitors bidders’ behaviour.
