Libya allocated Olympic tickets

Muhammad Gaddafi is in charge of Libya's Olympic authorities, who have been given tickets for 2012.

This article titled “Libya allocated Olympic tickets” was written by Ben Quinn, for The Guardian on Wednesday 15th June 2011 00.41 UTC

Hundreds of tickets to the London 2012 Olympics have been allocated to Libya in a move that could yet pose potentially awkward diplomatic questions for the British government.

Libya’s Olympic authorities, which is headed by Muammar Gaddafi’s eldest son, Muhammad were allocated “a few hundred” passes to next year’s Games, the organisers confirmed, while refusing to reveal the exact number.

The London organising committee of the Olympic Games (Locog) said in a statement last night: “The Libyan NOC [National Olympic Committee], not an individual, has been allocated a few hundred tickets (not thousands) which they are responsible for distributing to sports organisations and athletes within their country.”

Locog is obliged to give tickets to any of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) member states who request them.

Britain fears diplomatic embarrassment over attendance by members of the regime, according to the Daily Telegraph, which reported that a spokesperson for the IOC had said NOCs were only suspended when they were “not able to function any more because of government interference”.

Muammar Gaddafi and a number of senior figures from his regime are currently subject to an internatonal travel ban, while the International Criminal Court has also sought warrants for their arrest.

Muhammad Gaddafi holds a PhD in engineering and management from Liverpool University, where he completed his education after studying engineering in Libya, and has kept a much lower profile than some of his father’s other offspring.

He was reported to have been among the regime figures who met Kirsan Ilyumzhinov when the president of the world chess federation visited Tripoli earlier this month and was filmed playing chess with the Libyan dictator.

Other states that are entitled to apply for tickets include Syria, where the regime is currently in the midst of suppressing uprisings around the country, although a Locog spokesperson could not confirm a report that Syria had not applied.

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