IOC denies Olympic tickets were sold on

Organisers of the Olympics have denied that a top Greek delegate persuaded Games officials in London to allocate his country extra premium tickets.

The International Olympic Committee is investigating claims of improper ticket sales after it was alleged that national Olympic committees and official agents have been offering tickets for the July 27-August 12 sporting showcase on the black market at vastly inflated prices.

Britain’s Sunday Times said its undercover reporters posed as illegal ticket sellers from the Middle East and caught officials red-handed.

The IOC called an emergency meeting of its executive board after the paper presented it with a dossier of evidence on 27 officials controlling the tickets for 54 countries.

Among other claims, the paper alleged that Spyros Capralos, the Greek Olympic Committee president, said he had “pulled strings” with London organising chairman Sebastian Coe to obtain the extra top-priced tickets on the pretext that demand in Greece outstripped expectations.

The paper said Capralos admitted that demand had been low in reality and that the tickets were subsequently sold on for profit.

The London organising committee said Capralos’ alleged boasts of discussions with Coe were untrue. Coe had told the Greek Olympic Committee that tickets were allocated in accordance with IOC ticketing policy, the London committee said.

“There was no further contact - either formal or informal - on this subject,” the IOC said in a statement.

Capralos, one of the most senior officials during the 2004 Athens Games, was not immediately reachable for comment. IOC rules forbid member national committees from selling tickets abroad, inflating ticket prices or selling tickets to unauthorised resellers.