Russia’s Sports Minister Vilaty Mutko gestures as he answers a journalist’s questions, after their press tour of its anti doping laboratory in Moscow.
Advertisement
In the latest edition, called “Showdown for Russian Federation, ” the broadcaster reports that the country’s Sports Minister had covered up a positive doping test by a footballer from Russia’s top league, citing documents allegedly supporting the accusation.
But the documentary entitled The Secret World Of Doping: Showdown For Russia screened footage dated April 27 showing that the former chief trainer for the speed walking team, Viktor Chegin, was still involved in the training of national athletes, even though he had been banned for life over doping convictions.
Rodchenkov is now in the United States.
The documentary by German broadcaster ARD showed what it said were Mutko’s initials on a document as proof that the minister helped to cover up a positive test of an unidentified player of the Krasnodar soccer team.
“The aim of this film is obvious: to influence the committee on the reinstatement of Russian athletics on the eve of its meeting”, Mutko was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency before the documentary was broadcast on Wednesday.
“He has one target – me”, Mutko said of Rodchenkov.
Mutko said then doping scandal was payback from those unhappy that Russian Federation had won the rights to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 following allegations it bribed officials from soccer’s world governing body.
Mutko has described ARD’s latest documentary as a “targeted attack” against Russian Federation.
“He hates me in all his interviews”.
“Rodchenkov works for the people that have given him refuge”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said doping allegations had to be supported by evidence and unfounded accusations would be treated as “absolute slander”.
The sports ministry said in a statement later Thursday that Rodchenkov was sacked from the anti-doping lab in Moscow when authorities found out that he “was cheating the anti-doping community”.
Mutko referenced the calls for the 2018 World Cup to be reassigned amid investigations into the voting process and said this was just the latest attempt to undermine the country as a result of its success in winning the hosting rights.
Rodchenkov sent a document to Seppelt in which he accused Natalia Zhelanova, Mutko’s anti-doping advisor, of interference in the activity of the anti-doping laboratory.
The IOC said Friday that 23 athletes from five sports and six countries had positive findings in retests with improved techniques on 265 samples from the London Games.
Advertisement
The doping sample tested positive for banned steroid substance Oral Turinabol and Ikonnikov was handed a two-year suspension starting from November 2, 2012. Mutko said those two cases were enough justification for the entire retesting program to be scrapped.
