Sydney: IOC named Hong Kong basketball administrator Carl Ching on Saturday as the second of two accredited sports officials banned on security grounds from attending the Sydney Olympics.
Jacques Rogge, chief coordinator for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the Games said Ching, vice-president of the International Basketball Federation, had been refused entry to Australia.
In 1994 Ching was barred from entering Canada for the World Basketball Championships under immigration rules dealing with security threats and criminals.
Gafur Rakhimov, an Uzbekh member of the executive committee of amateur boxing's world body, has also been denied entry, despite the fact that under IOC rules accreditation for the Olympics acts as a visa.
Australian Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said on Friday the two bans had been imposed for security reasons. "We are dealing with serious issues of character," he said. Ching was not identified at that time.
The Australian action caused a row with the IOC, which demanded an explanation of the bans from Prime Minister John Howard. But Rogge tried to smooth over the issue on Saturday. He denied the IOC was in dispute with the Australian government.
"It's absolutely not a dispute. The Australian government said that people with accreditation will be allowed to enter the country. We know there are overriding situations when it is not possible, like security or other issues," he said.
"We are just asking why. It is legitimate to ask why and then to inform the National Olympic Committee of Hong Kong and the boxing federation why they are not allowed. And then full stop. If they are not allowed, they are not allowed. We are not going to wage a war."
British author Andrew Jennings, in his book "The Great Olympic Scandal", made a number of allegations about Rakhimov, suggesting possible links to organised crime in the former Soviet Union.
(c) Reuters Limited. Click here for Restrictions
Jacques Rogge, chief coordinator for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the Games said Ching, vice-president of the International Basketball Federation, had been refused entry to Australia.
In 1994 Ching was barred from entering Canada for the World Basketball Championships under immigration rules dealing with security threats and criminals.
Gafur Rakhimov, an Uzbekh member of the executive committee of amateur boxing's world body, has also been denied entry, despite the fact that under IOC rules accreditation for the Olympics acts as a visa.
Australian Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said on Friday the two bans had been imposed for security reasons. "We are dealing with serious issues of character," he said. Ching was not identified at that time.
The Australian action caused a row with the IOC, which demanded an explanation of the bans from Prime Minister John Howard. But Rogge tried to smooth over the issue on Saturday. He denied the IOC was in dispute with the Australian government.
"It's absolutely not a dispute. The Australian government said that people with accreditation will be allowed to enter the country. We know there are overriding situations when it is not possible, like security or other issues," he said.
"We are just asking why. It is legitimate to ask why and then to inform the National Olympic Committee of Hong Kong and the boxing federation why they are not allowed. And then full stop. If they are not allowed, they are not allowed. We are not going to wage a war."
British author Andrew Jennings, in his book "The Great Olympic Scandal", made a number of allegations about Rakhimov, suggesting possible links to organised crime in the former Soviet Union.
(c) Reuters Limited. Click here for Restrictions
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