Hickey replacement elected by Olympic Council of Ireland

[February 10, 2017]  (Reuters) - The Olympic Council of Ireland has elected Swim Ireland chief executive Sarah Keane to replace Pat Hickey, who stepped aside after being charged in Brazil over an alleged scheme to sell Rio Games tickets illegally.

Keane said in a statement she was "humbled and privileged" to have been elected after what had been "a very difficult few months for the Olympic movement in Ireland".

The 71-year-old Hickey, who was also the former head of the European Olympic Committee, was detained during the Rio Games in connection with an investigation into an illegal ticket-scalping ring.

He returned to Ireland in December after the umbrella body representing national Olympic committees paid his 1.5 million reais ($479,248) bail.

Hickey and all those named in the case have denied wrongdoing.

(Reporting by Toby Davis; editing by xxx)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Former top European member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Patrick Hickey, leaves a police station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 6, 2016. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes