IOC member Mario Pescante is stepping down from his position as vice president of the Olympic body, saying he feels let down by the Italian government’s refusal to back Rome’s bid to host the 2020 Games.
Rome’s bid was withdrawn last week after Prime Minister Mario Monti declined to provide the required government financial guarantees to the International Olympic Committee at a time of economic crisis in Italy.
Pescante, a longtime power broker in Italy’s sports establishment, was the leader of the Rome bid. While remaining as a regular IOC member, Pescante said on Tuesday he is resigning as one of the committee’s four vice presidents.
“My resignation shouldn’t be interpreted as an action against the government’s decision to not guarantee Rome’s bid,” Pescante said. “In fact, President Monti’s decision was accepted with due respect.
“I felt a bit embarrassed to be representing a country which has thrown in the towel early. I share and understand the government’s decision but to explain to the world why I was staying at the top of the IOC would have been difficult. And so I took a step back.”
The IOC confirmed it had received Pescante’s resignation as vice president.
Pescante has been an IOC member since 1994 and will retain his position as a rank-and-file delegate, with full voting rights. However, he will no longer serve on the powerful, policy-making executive board.
Pescante was elected to the board in 2006 and elevated to vice president in 2009. He was currently the second-ranking vice president behind Yu Zaiqing of China.
His vice president’s position will likely be filled at the next IOC session in London during the 2012 Games. The other vice presidents are Ng Ser Miang of Singapore and Thomas Bach of Germany.
Pescante is also chairman of the IOC’s international relations committee. He is a former president of the European Olympic Committees and served as the Italian government supervisor for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.
Monti scrapped Rome’s 2020 bid a day before the deadline for submission of bid files to the IOC.
Five cities remain in the race: Madrid, Tokyo, Istanbul, Doha and Baku, Azerbaijan.
