New Delhi: The Chairman of the 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Suresh Kalmadi on Friday refused to back down from his demand that Commonwealth Games CEO Mike Hooper be replaced and said he will press for it when he meets Commonwealth Games Federation chief Michael Fennell later this month.
Fennell had issued a statement on Friday from Jamaica rejecting the demand for sacking Hooper from the post but Kalmadi insisted that the CGF chief has not turned down outright the Organising Committee's decision.
"He (Fennell) has not rejected our demand outright. He has said that we will talk in London on October 28 and 29 in full detail. He has mentioned that he is not agreeable but he has also said that on October 28 and 29 when we will meet in London we shall discuss this fully," said Kalmadi who on Thursday sought Hooper's sacking describing the Kiwi official as "useless".
Kalmadi made it clear that the CGF was free to keep Hooper as CGF chief executive but the Games Organising Committee does not want him in India.
"I have never asked for his (Hooper's) sacking. I have only asked for his transfer. He is the chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation. They (CGF) are free to keep him. I am only saying don't keep him in India because we can't concentrate on our work when he is around," Kalmadi said.
Earlier in the day, the showdown between the Commonwealth Games organisers and their international bosses took a more acrimonious turn with the CGF rejecting calls for Hooper's ouster and bluntly telling the Organising Committee to focus on the work at hand.
Fennell also ruled out scrapping its proposed independent monitoring panel to oversee the preparations.
"We are naturally very surprised and disappointed in receiving this request to remove Mr Hooper from Delhi. He is totally dedicated to the Commonwealth Games movement and we consider that such a personal attack on him is unwarranted. Instead of attacking Mr Hooper, I urge the Organising Committee to focus on the issues raised by us in Delhi following our General Assembly on Monday" — CGF President, Mike Fennell to CNN-IBN
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