Greece, Serbia deny black market Olympic ticket charges
Olympic officials in both Greece and Serbia are refuting charges that members of their respective national Olympic committees sold tickets for the upcoming London Games with large price increases.
Sebastian Coe (L-R), chairman of the London 2012 Olympics organizing committee, Hellenic Olympic committee President Spyros Capralos and Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, attend the torch lighting ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the site of ancient Olympia in Greece May 10.
Mal Langsdon/REUTERS
Athens
Greek and Serbian Olympic officials deny they were involved in selling tickets to the London Games on the black market.
The IOC is investigating allegations in Britain's Sunday Times that officials and ticket agents in several countries were caught selling tickets for up to 10 times their face value.
The newspaper quoted Greek Olympic Committee President Spyros Capralos as telling undercover reporters posing as illegal ticket sellers that he had "pulled strings" with London organizing chairman Sebastian Coe to obtain extra tickets.
The Greek committee says the story is "untrue." It adds that Capralos' comments, which were filmed using a hidden camera, were "misleading" and "fragmentary."
The general secretary of Serbia's Olympic committee, Djordje Visacki, says national bodies are not in charge of the tickets.