• Skier 'threw tantrum' after prosthetic leg was not ratified • Mills coach says there is a 'vendetta' against her 
 
 Heather Mills would have been free to compete in the Sochi Paralympics next year had she not allegedly flown into a rage over a misunderstanding about the eligibility of her prosthetic limb, it has emerged. 
 
 The former wife of Sir Paul McCartney is now facing a fine of up to €1,000 and a referral to the International Paralympic Committee's legal and ethics commission after a contentious row that ended her hopes of representing Great Britain at next year's Games. 
 
 The IPC's director of communications, Craig Spence, revealed details of the incident at an Austrian hotel in which it is alleged Mills "broke into a rage", lunged at a leading IPC official and screamed insults before being restrained. 
 
 But he said that had Mills allowed the IPC Ski Committee head Sylvana Mestre to explain its position she would have been told that while the boot she had been using was not ratified by the IPC, her results this season would still stand and her new boot would almost certainly be ratified. 
 
 However, the well respected Mestre had only got as far as saying the current boot was illegal when Mills flew into a rage and yelled: "You're a bitch, you're a bitch, you don't know who I am. I'm going to make your life a misery." 
 
 Spence said that Mills had turned up uninvited to the meeting but had not been able to hear the contents of a conference call over Skype because participants were wearing headphones. It was when Mestre went over to explain that it had been decided she could still compete if she resubmitted her equipment for approval that she flew into a rage, he said. 
 
 Mills had earlier claimed it was Mestre who had lost her temper. A representative of the former model said in a statement: "Heather waited patiently to try and explain to Sylvana Mestre that her left boot was legal and purely cosmetic to abide by the archaic IPC rules. Sylvana shouted at Heather, would not let Tony [the GB coach] speak or explain, and stormed back to the boardroom raised table." 
 
 But Spence insisted 10 other people in the room would back Mestre's version of events. "Heather lunged at her and launched into a second tirade of abuse. She was restrained by her PA," he said. 
 
 The IPC, which requires athletes to submit their equipment for ratification before the season starts, said Mills had turned up uninvited to the coach's meeting and her arguments did not add up. 
 
 "Heather claimed she had been disqualified, when she hadn't. She claimed her injury had been caused by the heavier boot, but there is no evidence she has worn it." 
 
 Mills's team did not immediately respond to requests for comment and the British Paralympic Association said it did not wish to add to a statement issued on Monday which confirmed Mills had withdrawn from the British disabled ski team with immediate effect. 
 
 Spence confirmed Mills has now lost her chance of going to Sochi even in the unlikely event that she should have a change of heart, due to the removal of the request for a bipartite place which is reserved for athletes restricted from qualifying due to injury or other unique criteria. He added: "We are going to fine her between €500 and €1000 for her outburst this week and we will also refer the situation to our legal and ethics commission. 
 
 It is understood that Mills was "99% per cent certain" of sealing a place in the British skiing team for the 2014 Paralympics before the latest controversy, after rapid improvement this season. 

 Heather Mills accused of harassment by IPC after row 
 
 The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) says it may take disciplinary action against Heather Mills after alleging she "verbally abused" and "physically harassed" an official. 
 
 Mills, who lost the lower half of her left leg in 1993, said on Monday she would not ski at the 2014 Sochi Paralympics after the IPC ruled her equipment had not been ratified. 
 
 The IPC claims Mills went into a "wild tantrum" after being given the news and could now be fined. Her coach says there is a "vendetta" against her. 
 
 IPC skiing committee head Sylvana Mestre told BBC Sport that the 45-year-old Mills had acted entirely improperly. 
 
 "I was trying to explain to her that this is not the equipment we approved earlier in the year and then that was it, she exploded," said Mestre. 
 
 "She jumped on me. She started to say I was a bitch. She grabbed me from the back and she started to say that 'you don't know who I am, I will make your life miserable'. I don't understand the reaction." 
 
 A representative of former model Mills issued a statement in response, denying Mestre's and the IPC's version of events. 
 
 It read: "Heather waited patiently - as the IPC confirmed - to try and explain to Sylvana Mestre that her left boot was legal and purely cosmetic to abide by the archaic IPC rules. It was just cut down and the buckles removed to stop more weight limb damage." 
 
 The statement also claimed Mestre had shouted at Mills and would not let the GB coach the opportunity to "speak or explain" before storming off. 
 
 Mills's own coach, John Clark, plans to make a formal complaint about the behaviour of Mestre, claiming there is a "vendetta" against Mills and that Mestre had "deliberately put barriers in the way" of his racer. 
 
 In an email seen by the BBC, Clark has also called for Mestre's dismissal, but IPC spokesperson Craig Spence blamed Mills entirely. 
 
 "It was harassment," he said. "It was absolutely disgraceful behaviour." 
 
 In July, all athletes with adaptive skiing equipment - such as Mills - were asked to submit their device specifications for assessment. 
 
 The device Mills was using was approved, but she subsequently switched to a new limb created by the London Prosthetics Centre. 
 
 The IPC wanted her to wear a new boot cover over the prosthetic, but Mills said that requirement resulted in "unnecessary weight" and "intolerable pain" on her limb. 
 
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 When the IPC discovered at the Pitzal Europa Cup event in Austria on Monday that Mills was not complying with its ruling, it held a meeting with coaches and race officials to discuss the issue. 
 
 The IPC said it was willing to work on the new device with the skier and did not plan to annul her previous results. 
 
 However, Spence claimed Mills "started to verbally abuse" Mestre when the IPC chief tried to explain the IPC's stance. 
 
 He insisted the IPC was not looking to ban Mills, the former wife of musician Sir Paul McCartney, from future competitions, but said it will now take the matter to the IPC's legal and ethics committee. 
 
 "It is likely we will sanction the athlete and this will incur a fine of between 500-1,000 euros," he said. 
 
 Mills, who lost the lower half of her left leg following a collision with a police motorbike in 1993, has already resigned from the British skiing programme and does not intend to compete in Sochi. 
 
 Her management company claim an unfair IPC regulation had forced her withdrawal. The IPC denies those claims.
– Heather Mills was apparently hoping to head to Sochi, and not as an observer: Paul McCartney's ex was gunning to qualify for the British Paralympic skiing team, but had those hopes dashed Monday when the International Paralympic Committee ruled a new prosthetic she was using hadn't been ratified by the governing body. Things may have gotten worse for her from there, and we'll let a British paper sum up why: "Heather Mills ‘lunges’ at sports boss in shocking tirade over ski team snub," proclaims the Daily Express. As the AP reports, the 45-year-old confronted ski committee head Sylvana Mestre at a hotel in Austria, lunged and swore at her, and said "you don't know who I am, I'm going to make your life miserable." (This all per an IPC spokesman; 10 IPC members were reportedly present during the outburst.) The Daily Express adds that Mills called Mestre a "bitch," more than once. The BBC has Mills' version of the events, per a statement: "Heather waited patiently—as the IPC confirmed—to try and explain to Sylvana Mestre that her left boot was legal and purely cosmetic to abide by the archaic IPC rules. It was just cut down and the buckles removed to stop more weight limb damage." Mills faces an IPC fine and disciplinary action, reports the Guardian. (Click for a cheerier Beatles-related story.)