Sir Chris Hoy's father said not enough was being done for families.

A new Olympics tickets row broke out on Friday after Sir Chris Hoy's father said not enough was being done for families.

David Hoy, whose son has won four cycling gold medals, including three at the last Games in Beijing, said he was struggling to get hold of tickets to watch him compete in London.

Every British athlete has been given the opportunity to buy two for each session in which they compete.

But Mr Hoy told the BBC: "I don't think athletes' families have been taken into consideration. It's not rocket science.

"It just needs somebody to sit down and think about the families who have got the athletes to this level. Just a little bit of payback would be very welcome."

He said it was unfair that Sir Chris could be faced with choosing whether his tickets go to his parents, wife or sister.
Many events at the Games, including cycling, have been oversubscribed.

Mr Hoy said that with the final round of ticket sales due to take place in a few weeks' time, the organisers should hold back some of them for families.

Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy with wife and parents David Hoy and Carol Hoy

He said his message to the London 2012 Organising Committee (Locog) was simple: "Please consider how you would feel if your son or daughter had worked for 10 or 12 years and slaved, trained really hard, got to this level, and then you were told 'Really sorry, you're going to have to sit and watch it at home'.

"Just imagine how you'd feel and do something about it, please."

A Locog spokesman said today: "Locog is guaranteeing all athletes up to two tickets for family and friends for every session they compete in, and this hasn't always been the case for previous Games.

"Athletes' families typically can also get tickets from governing bodies and their national Olympic committees. Sponsor Procter & Gamble is also helping Team GB athletes' families with tickets."

David Hoy and Carol Hoy the parents of GB cyclist Chris Hoy

The ticketing system for the Games has proved controversial, with complaints about an alleged lack of transparency from the organisers in giving a breakdown over tickets in terms of price and by events, so it can be checked whether they are keeping their promises to make seats affordable.

Organisers had previously had to deny rumours that babies will not be guaranteed a seat next to their parents if they are bought a seat when tickets go back on sale.