Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko at a press conference on Thursday, July 21, said that “tomorrow” he is ready to leave his post if the World Anti-Doping Agency proves the fact of his participation in any doping system. This was reported by RIA Novosti.
At the same time, Mutko stressed that the final decision on his resignation should be made by the president or prime minister. “As for my personal perceptions, I’ll tell you this: today such a commission will demand a resignation [чиновника] in one area, tomorrow some other commission will demand the resignation of another [чиновника] – Probably, this is all calculated, between us, “- quotes his words” Interfax “.
Earlier on Thursday, it became known that the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) lost a case in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne regarding the admission of Russian athletes suspected of violating anti-doping laws to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. However, the final decision whether Russian athletes will participate in the Olympics will be made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the coming days. The next meeting of the IOC Executive Board will take place on 24 July.
As Mutko said at a press conference, in his opinion, the IOC will be guided by the recommendations of sports federations in the issue of admitting Russian athletes to the Olympics. He added that in general, the committee reserves the right, including for collective suspension or collective admission.
At the same time, the Russian minister thanked the IOC for its position on the anti-doping investigation against Russian athletes. “He is showing delicacy, and not the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), because he says that we need to be more careful with accusations against the state,” he said.
At the same time, Mutko was outraged by today’s decision of the CAS, which, in his opinion, infringes on the rights of athletes who did not violate anti-doping laws. The official recalled that Russian athletes had been tested for doping for several years under the supervision of international anti-doping organizations.
Close attention was drawn to Russian athletes after the WADA independent commission published a report in which the Russian authorities, in particular the Ministry of Sports, were accused of concealing the facts of the use of doping drugs by Russian athletes at the Sochi Olympics in 2014.
According to Mutko, the Russian government is currently working on creating a special commission that will study the WADA report. At the same time, he once again drew special attention to the fact that Russia does not recognize the existence of any doping programs at the state level. “It’s just unacceptable,” he said.
The sports official also expressed regret that the WADA commission did not interview suspected doping athletes and officials and did not verify the facts. At the same time, he insists that if the facts of doping are proven, then the leaders of WADA should also bear responsibility, since the agency today cannot look like an organization that only gives an assessment.
The minister added that Russian athletes will continue to defend their rights until they go to civil courts. “I really empathize with our athletes and our fans. I am ashamed of this situation. I am ashamed of what is happening now in the field of sports, in particular in athletics, ”the official admitted.
In addition, Russia is open to rechecking samples from the Games in Sochi, and if someone is caught, he will be punished. “But we are sure that the Russian team performed with dignity and honesty. If there are any programs, we must see it, but it is impossible to draw conclusions based on the testimony of one person, ”Mutko said.
The point is that WADA in its report was based on information provided in May by the former head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov. He claimed to have followed government instructions when he swapped doping samples for Russian athletes during the Sochi Olympics. According to him, at least 15 athletes who won medals at these Games were part of Russia’s “doping program” aimed at dominating the home Olympics.
In his speech at a press conference, Mutko stated that at the moment a special calculation is being made to damage the image of Russian sports. He also noted that political interference in sports in recent years has become “outrageous.”
“We see that someone does not like that in the Russian Federation the state policy in the field of sports is a priority. We want to make a healthy nation. We host many major sporting events. Today we have brought back our traditions in sports, and believe me, not at the expense of doping, ”the minister concluded.
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