Fasel, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) chief and the International Olympic Committee member heading the Vancouver 2010 Games preparations, had admitted to helping a friend negotiate a deal with the company controlling the IIHF's TV and marketing rights, the IOC said.

"The Executive Board found that by helping a person with whom he was friends to offer his services to the company responsible for exploiting the television and the marketing rights of the IF of which he is President, and thereby obtaining substantial financial advantages for him, Fasel was in breach of the Rules Concerning Conflicts of Interests...and his conduct was likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic Movement," the IOC said in a statement.

It said Fasel, also a member of the powerful IOC Executive Board, had helped his friend's company clinch a deal with the company controlling the rights and was 'personally' involved in various marketing contract negotiations.
 

Fasel, who also heads the Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations, had said in May last year he had indeed helped his friend but unlike Swiss media reports, denied taking any money.

"There has never been any consulting agreement between myself and Infront (the company controlling TV and marketing rights of the IHHF)," he said.

"I have, however, helped a long-time friend to offer his services to Infront, and I have privately supported him in the implementation of his mandate.

"For example, I have helped him with opening doors in the Asian market to get access to the Asian sports network. Today, I realize that this likely was a case of poor judgment. For this I apologise," Fasel had said.

While the IOC said the "reputational damage is all the greater given Fasel's important responsibilities within the IOC," it had opted to reprimand him for his behavior and not to remove him from any of his IOC posts.

"Respecting the principle of proportionality and taking into consideration the apologies offered by Fasel, the Ethics Commission considers it necessary to recommend that the Executive Board remindRené Fasel of his duty to respect the Olympic Charter and the Code of Ethics and to issue him with a reprimand," it said.

Fasel's punishment, despite his senior position, is lighter than in the most recent cases, where less senior members were reprimanded and banned from sitting on any IOC commission for five years.