Rogge told to ease off

Jacques Rogge, the International Olympic Committee president, has been advised not to be too tough on the cities bidding for the 2012 Games by one of the most experienced figures in the Olympic movement.

The warning came as a ruling on the furore over a £15million package of incentives from London 2012 was expected today from the International Olympic Committee's Ethics Commission.

Bid leader Seb Coe withdrew the incentives, which included free flights for all athletes coming to a London Games and subsidised training camps, after Rogge feared the start of a 2012 "bidding war" and demanded an investigation.

The Commission are not expected to impose any sanctions on London 2012.

But former IOC marketing director Michael Payne, who worked for the organisation for two decades, said: "The IOC need to walk the fine line between encouraging a city to bid and be creative and not suffocating the bidding process.

"You do not address the excesses of some years ago by micro-managing the current rules process."

Rogge believes a bidding war in the run-up to the vote on 6 July would provoke memories of the bribery scandal that hit the IOC six years ago. He has banned all five bidding cities from introducing new ideas that were not contained in the bid books handed to the IOC in November.

This is a serious blow to London, which was widely regarded as the city with the most momentum and imagination in the campaign. London was expected to be the most serious threat to favourites Paris.

But Payne backed Coe's view that the row over the incentives would not damage the bid. He said: "This is not a death knell to London. If anything, it could turn out to be a virtue since it is addressing issues that were problems at previous Games. In fact, some of the actions proposed were either encouraged by the IOC or have been written into the host city contracts as an obligation - such as the travel."

Some IOC members believe Rogge and the Ethics Commission are nit-picking too much in a campaign which should be the most glamorous and exciting bidding race for years with London, New York, Madrid and Moscow taking on front-runners Paris.

Payne added: "Ways must be found to make the campaign beneficial to all the bidders. The most dangerous thing for the Olympic movement would be a return to the situation with just one or two cities bidding for the Games."

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