Pat Hickey interview: ‘Shane Ross is wrong, I’m not a patsy to Putin or any dictator’

Former Olympic Council boss claims that he has been unfairly treated and his name discredited,

Controversy: Pat Hickey leaves the Hospital Samaritano Barra in a wheelchair to a waiting police car in Rio in August, 2016

August 21 2021 02:30 AM

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Former Olympic Council of Ireland president Pat Hickey has claimed he has been unfairly treated by people including ex-minister Shane Ross who want him “discredited” and “out of the way”.

Mr Hickey has reacted furiously to allegations that he was supportive of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying: “I am in no way a patsy to any dictator.”

The Dubliner is still facing criminal charges related to alleged ticket touting at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.