Toronto Mayor Rob Ford became upset after he was told he couldn’t enter an exclusive lounge at the Air Canada Centre during a Toronto Maple Leafs game on Saturday night, according to Councillor Frank Di Giorgio.
Di Giorgio, the city's budget chief who accompanied Ford to the game, said the mayor was treated "like a celebrity" as he roamed the ACC between periods, as mobs of supporters tried to get their picture taken with him.
"We went into a number of boxes we were invited to through the game and people just wanted their pictures taken with Rob," Di Giorgio told CP24 on Sunday, describing the mayor as a “rock star.”
However, when Ford was refused access to the Directors’ Lounge, "he became a little bit upset," Di Giorgio said.
"It's something that he may be been accustomed to in the past," he said.
According to Di Giorgio, Ford stood against a wall and refused to move, suggesting to others that he was being punished for his vote against granting Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment a $10-million loan to expand BMO Field, home of the Toronto FC.
Di Giorgio said he was later informed by security that Ford wasn't allowed into the lounge because a private function was taking place.
The councillor also refuted rumours that the mayor appeared drunk at the game.
Asked if Ford was intoxicated, Di Giorgio responded: "In my view, he was not. And I've seen Mayor Ford on a number of occasions. I could speak to him and he understood exactly what I was saying and most of the time I was able to keep him walking along, along with the security guards. But he kept going back to, he couldn’t understand why he would not be allowed to attend the Directors' Lounge."
Ford was kicked out of a 2006 Leafs’ game for intoxication. He first denied that he had been at the game, however, he later admitted the story was true.
