Juan Antonio Samaranch went on a major charm offensive yesterday. The International Olympic Committee president gave interviews to all the major United States television networks in an attempt to reassure corporate America that the Olympic movement is serious about trying to clean up its act. But he knows the crisis is far from over.

The IOC's decision on Sunday to recommend the expulsion of six members over allegations of bribery in Salt Lake City's winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games and a radical overhaul of the election system appears to have appeased the major multi-national sponsors who bankroll the Games - in the short-term at least.

Samaranch's position, however, is still precarious. He took no personal responsibility for the improper behaviour of the 14 members - more than 10 per cent of the IOC - accused of soliciting cash payments and other favours from Salt Lake City. He said there was no reason to heed the calls, coming from people outside the IOC, for him to resign because he was not guilty of anything.

Yet the 78-year-old Spaniard must fear the decision to broaden the inquiry to investigate the conduct of previous bidding cities including Amsterdam's unsuccessful bid for the 1992 Games and Athens' winning bid for 2004.

Samaranch acknowledged that more damaging revelations could yet emerge. But he said he was confident that most IOC members were honest. "This is the beginning, not the end of our work," he said.

A number of the disgraced members also declared yesterday that they will refuse to heed Samaranch's call to go quietly, including the president of the African Olympic Committee Jean-Claude Ganga of the Republic of Congo.

Ganga, who led the African boycott of the 1976 Games, has vowed to fight the decision. This is despite the fact that Richard Pound's report found that he received more than £135,000 in direct payments, medical and travel expenses and "unusually generous" gifts and entertainment.

Also still under investigation are Kim Un-yong of South Korea and Vitaly Smirnov of Russia. They may yet also be expelled, which could trigger a bloody political battle in the IOC.

Kim is one of the most powerful figures within the committee. A senior executive board member, he has been considered one of the leading candidates to take over as president when Samaranch's final term expires in 2001.

Ganga, Kim and Smirnov have all claimed they were implicated in the investigation for political reasons, suggesting a plot to influence the campaign to succeed Samaranch. "Absolutely not," said Pound, who is also considered a top presidential hopeful. "That is totally unrelated to this. Not one of us, believe me, ever wanted to be on a commission like this."

With Sydney set to come under investigation for the manner in which they won the 2000 Games, Manchester were yesterday leading the calls for compensation over their unsuccessful bid. But John Coates, the Australian Olympic Committee president who last week admitted having offered £70,000 to two African IOC members, insisted: "What we did was within the guidelines. Just as China did it through their government aid and consulates and just as Manchester did it through the Millennium foundation, we did it through co-operation agreements with the AOC," he said.

Samaranch said any cities who wanted to claim back the costs of an unsuccessful bid that they believed had been tainted by corruption should approach the IOC.