Monitor

All the News of the World The Sunday papers comment on corruption in the International Olympic Committee

THE ENTIRE system of selecting Olympic cities should be rigorously reformed. Finally, the preening, posturing president must go. He will not depart without a struggle; indeed, they will have to prise his fingers from the door handle of the Chateau de Vidy in Lausanne. But if the movement is ever to reclaim its dignity and integrity, Juan Antonio Samaranch must depart before the week is done. (Patrick Collins)

Sunday Mail

THE REVELATIONS of widespread corruption over the selection of Salt Lake City for the next winter games have not only brought disgrace upon individuals. They have tainted the entire Olympic committee. Mr Samaranch cannot be excused. The network of bribery exposed by the Dick Pound report stretches far beyond Salt Lake City - to Sydney, Malaysia, and Japan. The common factor in it all, as International Olympic Committee President, has been Mr Samaranch. Accordingly, his immediate removal from office must be the first move to the complete reform of the IOC.

News of the World

SAMARANCH SHOULD have been collecting his pension for a long time. But four years ago he engineered a vote of the IOC that raised the retirement age from 75 to 80. At the time, he thought it would ensure he would remain Lord of the Rings into the next millennium.

As the current scandal continues to unfold, his grip on power is loosened a little each day. How he must now wish he had stood down gracefully when he had the chance. (Duncan Mackay)

The Observer

MR SAMARANCH'S lifestyle makes "Junket Jack" Cunningham look like an amateur. In Ngano, Samaranch was put up in a lavish hotel suite at a cost of pounds 50,000. In Seoul, he stayed in the Shilla Hotel's presidential suite at pounds 2,400 a night. When lowlier IOC members see the perks enjoyed by their president, they naturally want a slice of the action. Mr Samaranch heads a corrupt organisation and has lived high on the hog for too long. To restore some honour to the Olympic ideal, he should resign today.

Sunday Times