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Last updated at 12:10 AM on 18th February 2011

UEFA made the astonishing decision to have a shamed powerbroker from the 2018 World Cup vote as their head of delegation yesterday at the Champions League final ticket launch in London.

Cypriot Mario Lefkaritis was one of the six FIFA executive committee members accused of telling 'blatant lies' to Prime Minister David Cameron and Prince William after reneging on their promises to vote for England 2018.

Friend or foe? Marios Lefkaritis at the UEFA Champions League Final 2011 ticket launch in London

Yet UEFA, in their wisdom, sent vice-president Lefkaritis as their senior representative when they announced excessive ticket prices for the Wembley final on May 28, which will produce record-breaking match revenue of ?14m.

Along with tickets costing from ?150 to ?300, revealed by Sports Agenda yesterday, is an extraordinary administrative charge of ?26 for delivering them to households. This compares with the ?6 London 2012 will charge for their signed delivery of Olympic tickets.

Lefkaritis so enraged England 2018 with his double dealing - he blamed the English media for losing the vote - that bid chief executive Andy Anson confronted him in the FIFA hotel. Yet senior FA board member Barry Bright introduced him to the media yesterday as a 'good friend of English football'.

Lefkaritis said: 'I was asked to come here by UEFA and I agreed. I can't see any problem with that. The FIFA 2018 vote is nothing to do with the Champions League final.'

The first action of Mark Gonnella, Arsenal's new director of communications, has been to reduce press access to Arsene Wenger. And Gonnella didn't impress either by parading his wife and son through the Emirates press room before the Barcelona game - for which the club had to turn down 60 requests for media passes. Arsenal say it was Wenger's decision to alter his press arrangements and Gonnella's family did not take up press box space.

Hollywood A-lister Mickey Rourke created a stir by attending the Millennium Stadium last weekend for the start of rugby league's Super League season while researching his film role of Crusaders player Gareth Thomas. That prompted England rugby union manager Martin Johnson to be asked this week whom he would like to play him on screen. Johnson's choice was professional bodybuilder and The Incredible Hulk actor Lou Ferrigno (right). 'He's got the looks,' Johnno told compere Ben Kay at a Matt Hampson Trust charity function.

London 2012 and the specialist Met Police unit Operation Podium face a huge task keeping track of the near one million tickets allocated to national Olympic Committees - always the main source for touts. London have warned NOCs to abide by the rules and say they will ensure each country is given an allocation that reflects past applications, competitors and their particular events. So having approved Ipswich Town owner Marcus Evans - described as the world's biggest ticket tout - as the official ticket reseller for Ireland, Greece and Malta, they should at least keep an eye on how many opening ceremony and 100m final tickets those countries want.

The biggest challenge for London 2012 will be attracting full houses for Olympic football - especially the women's final at Wembley, for which the cheapest tickets are ?30. Seats at the women's Champions League final at Craven Cottage will cost ?5.

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