Treacy claims bitterness and back-biting a thing of the past

IRISH athletes will not have to endure the same bitterness, rancour and open back-biting which soured the aftermath of the Sydney Olympics, Irish Sports Council chief John Treacy pledged yesterday.

The allocation of €6.88m for 42 sporting governing bodies yesterday, allied to €3.5m more for eight sports under the ‘Athens Enhancement Programme’ means that “everyone is now pulling the same rope”, said Treacy.

Speaking at the announcement of the grants in Dublin yesterday, Treacy conceded that nobody wanted to see a re-run of the aftermath of the Sydney games where finger-pointing and apportioning blame were the order of the day.