Games boss - effigy burning hurt

It was "upsetting" having effigies of himself burnt in the streets of New Delhi but he never felt unsafe, Kiwi Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) chief executive Michael Hooper said today.

Protesters yelling "Leave Michael Hooper, go back, go back!" last week branded Hooper a racist after reports in India quoted him as having said Delhi's "population hazard" hampered the organisation of the Games.

He also made headlines for his lavish lifestyle, with a stipend and servants paid for by the Indian taxpayer through the Games Organising Committee.

When Hooper, CGF president Michael Fennell and organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi fronted journalists today, Fennell tried to close the issue down.

"Those are not matters we will be responding to in a press conference, sorry. We're talking about the Games, we'll deal with the Games, right," Fennell said.

But when questions about Hooper being unable to speak for himself were posed, he reached for the microphone, seemingly in a bid to close the matter down once and for all.

"Look, obviously it was upsetting personally. I'm not going to delve into it," he said.

"I made my position clear at the time - the basis of that what was said at the time was not correct. Mr Fennell put out a press statement, it's all a matter of public record.

"Of course it was upsetting, but insofar as do I feel safe in Delhi, yes I do. The security arrangements that are in place are appropriate and I don't have any issue with that."

Reports of his lavish lifestyle were "quite simply not true".

"There have been numbers bandied around and I wish I had $600,000 a year in tax paid for me, because if you gross that up you can figure what I should be earning - it's simply not true."

Denials were the order of the day, with Kalmadi painting operational malfunctions such as boxing scales being wrong, the results system not working properly, transport hassles, miniscule crowds and stomach problems for athletes at the Commonwealth Games Village as minor.

All the problems would be sorted out by "tomorrow", he told disbelieving journalists.

- NZPA