Rio 2016 officials have lodged an official complaint with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Ethics Commission about a remark reportedly made by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, which they took as a criticism of their bid. Rival cities are not allowed under IOC rules to directly criticise other bidders.
Daley was reported to have said last week that hosting the World Cup, as Brazil will do in 2014, was not the same as hosting the Olympics.
The Brisbane Times reports Rio 2016 believes that it implied the city was incapable of hosting the Olympics and, just ahead of the IOC vote for the 2016 Games host city, Rio considered it worthy of being reported to the Ethics Commission.
But the Mayor reportedly added “all the other three cities are fiercely competitive and they are as passionate about their city as we are”.
Chicago 2016 head Pat Ryan said, “it’s the first I have heard of this. However I think Mayor Daley was misinterpreted and really every city has had grounds to file complaints during the campaign but we have decided not to file any, and that’s the bottom line”.
He added, “the Mayor is a very good and fair competitor. Obviously things can be said in the heat of the moment and of the battle”.
