A consortium of 88 European broadcasters has added to the chorus of complaints about the Olympics, saying it wanted back some of the $250m (pounds 165m) it paid for rights to the Games. The European Broadcasting Union said in a letter yesterday to Olympic officials and the Games organisers, Acog, that working conditions were so bad that its members could not deliver acceptable programmes to viewers and listeners. "Acog and the International Olympic Committee simply is not delivering what we are paying for. Flooding into oncoming traffic, they were reprimanded by an off-duty police officer. Pouring out of trains at the Peachtree Centre subway station, passengers were confronted by lifeless escalators and a steep 300-step climb to the street.

Will the buses ever come? Fenced-off streets, growling cops.Spectators leaving the boxing arena on Sunday were log-jammed on an intersection controlled by US Air Force sergeants. The organisers are wrestling with the problems of transport scheduling, drivers who are unfamiliar with the venues and the poor quality of the buses."It is already clear that Acog miscalculated seriously when addressing the task it took on with a successful bid for the Olympics, learning little, it seems from the Games of Barcelona and Seoul.AD Frazier, No 2 in Acog, said it would take a little time to get the transport system working. "It's rather like a dinosaur: Its head makes a decision and 10 minutes later the tail wags."That the Games have become too big is beyond question. Despite the smiling faces, the goodwill conveyed by local inhabitants is cheapened here by profiteering and tatty vending outlets Nerves become frayed.

Dick Palmer, the secretary of the British Olympic Association and team chief, yesterday said: "The problems of the transport system have been taken up at the highest level, involving the IOC president, Juan Antonio Samaranch, Billy Payne, president of the organising committee, and Bill Campbell, the mayor of Atlanta. "They weren't admitting to a problem but now they realise they have a big problem," an IOC member, Alex Gilady, said.Attempting to play down the matter, Brennan said: "I'm told that many of the technology problems are rapidly being resolved." However, things came to a head yesterday when Acog came under fire from the IOC which is clearly embarrassed by a worsening situation.Anger is understandable. "We are working like 20 years ago," Michel Henault of the Agence France-Presse said. "We received nothing on the computers from wrestling and weightlifting."Acog claims to have identified the problem, but cannot guarantee to bring about an improvement.