nepalnepal— The bitter financial dispute over the London Games escalated Thursday when organizers excluded the top two leaders of the British Olympic Association from 2012 board meetings.
In another embarrassment for the host nation, the BOA also said it may withdraw from hosting a major global Olympic meeting in London next year because of money problems.
The messy spat pits the BOA, headed by Colin Moynihan, against the 2012 organizing committee, known as LOCOG and headed by Sebastian Coe. At issue is the distribution of any surplus from next year’s Olympics.
LOCOG said Moynihan and BOA chief executive Andy Hunt are barred from attending board meetings while “they are individually and actively involved in pursuing a dispute against LOCOG.”
“Both have been invited to send alternate representatives to board meetings,” LOCOG said, adding that the BOA is “ably represented” by four other representatives on the board.
The BOA said in a statement late Thursday that it saw no reason to copy LOCOG and ban its top people from its own board meetings.
“We do not feel a similar action is necessary and we are not taking the same steps as LOCOG,” the BOA said. “We see no reason to do so.”
The cash-strapped BOA has been in open conflict with LOCOG and the International Olympic Committee over its share of revenues from the London Games.
The association, which is entitled to a 20 percent cut of any profit, argues that the cost of the Paralympics should not be taken into account.
LOCOG and the IOC insist the Olympics and Paralympics should be counted together. The BOA rejected the IOC’s ruling last week and appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, raising the stakes by moving the issue to a full-blown legal dispute with London and international bodies.
The fight comes as IOC officials prepare to travel to London next week to check on preparations for the games.
The International Paralympic Committee accused the BOA on Thursday of “undermining the vision” of London 2012 as a single sports festival.
“The London 2012 Paralympic Games will not make a loss and will more than cover its costs,” IPC chief executive Xavier Gonzalez said in an open letter to British media.
He said London’s plans were always set out as representing “one festival of sport, with an integrated Olympic and Paralympic Games, underpinned by a single budget.”
“It is very disappointing that this vision is being undermined by the BOA,” Gonzalez said.
On a separate issue, the BOA said it may not host the Association of National Olympic Committee’s general assembly next year in order to save money.
The biannual assembly, attended by leaders of more than 200 national Olympic bodies from around the world, is traditionally held in the upcoming summer Olympic host city in April, a few months before the games.
The conference, which costs several million dollars to stage, is always held in conjunction with a meeting of the IOC’s ruling executive board.
“A final decision is a matter for ANOC,” BOA spokesman Darryl Seibel told The Associated Press. “We’ve expressed interest in hosting the event here in London but a final determination hasn’t been made. We are working with ANOC to find an appropriate solution for everyone.
“Of course we’d be honored to host the event. However, we do have to prioritize our resources. Our priority No. 1 is preparing Team GB for the games.”
Jimena Saldana, the assistant to ANOC head Mario Vazquez Rana in Mexico, said ANOC had no comment on the issue for now.
The BOA, which relies exclusively on private funding, has said it faces a budget shortfall of up to $16 million that threatens funding of some support programs for the British team.
The ANOC assembly was held in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008 ahead of the games in those cities. Organizers of the 2000 Sydney Olympics declined to host the meeting, saying it was too much of a hindrance in the final months of preparations, and the event was moved to Rio de Janeiro.
Vazquez Rana, the Mexican media magnate, also serves on the IOC board. He has organized several ANOC meetings in Mexico, including last year’s assembly in Acapulco.
