Rio urge action by IOC Ethics Committee against Madrid bid

The Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics bid team have submitted a compaint against the Madrid bid delegation to the IOC Ethics Committee, reports Inside the Games.

Rio's complaint regards comments made by a Madrid bid official, Jose Maria Odriozola, who is alleged to have described Rio's bid as "the worst bid" in an interview with the EFE news agency.

Odriozola heads the Spanish Athletics Federation and is vice president at the Spanish National Olympic Committee, and is a respected figure within Olympic circles.

He said: "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," reports Inside the Games.

The rules of the bidding process prohibit candidates from publicly expressing negative comments about the other bids.

If found guilty, the Ethics Committee have the power to expel Madrid from the bidding process, though a range of other penalties remain open, including just a warning.

SOURCE: Inside the Games