Michael O’Reilly has brought a terrible thing to Irish boxing, says coach John Conlan
Mr Conlan who trains his son Michael, who has qualified for the last eight in the bantamweight division, yesterday hit out at O’Reilly’s failed drugs test, which was revealed by the Irish Examiner on the eve of the Rio games.
The scathing comments come as fresh claims of innocence came from the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) and Pro10 Sports, the ticket firm at the centre of the Rio ticket touting controversy.
Pro10 said that there was no breach in the rules by it having Kevin Mallon, who works for rival firm THG, distributing its tickets in the Brazilian capital.
THG had been told by the OCI that it could have no involvement in the distribution of tickets. Ahead of a meeting between Transport Minister Shane Ross and Pat Hickey of the OCI in Rio last night, the OCI said that it would not be investigating itself as part of its inquiry into the scandal.
Fine Gael TD Noel Rock said the scandal and the statements to date are “mind-boggling” and serious questions need to be answered. Fianna Fáil’s Timmy Dooley said: “The statements to date stretch credibility and taken together read like a Ladybird fairytale. The fact remains that a large number of tickets destined for Irish fans are alleged to have found their way onto the black market and beyond the reach of Irish fans.”
