RUSSIANS FROZEN OUT OF WINTER OLYMPICS
World Cup chief Mutko banned for life But weak IOC give ‘clean’ athletes lifeline
RUssIa’s team have been banned from the Winter Olympics in February because of ‘systemic manipulation of the anti- doping system’.
But the International Olympic Committee stopped short of banning their athletes altogether, allowing ‘clean’ individuals to compete in Pyeongchang ‘under strict conditions’ as an ‘Olympic athlete from russia’ with the acronym Oar.
They will compete under the Olympic flag with the Olympic anthem played at any medal ceremony.
It is a move that once again leaves the IOC open to accusations of weak leadership given that the organisation’s president, Thomas Bach, described russian doping — in particular at the last Winter Games in sochi — as ‘an unprecedented attack on the integrity of Olympic Games and sport’.
But Bach insisted at a press conference in Lausanne last night they had a duty to ‘protect the rights of clean athletes’. The sanction goes further than the rio summer Games last year, where only athletics and weightlifting kicked out russia.
after a 17-month investigation led by former president of switzerland, samuel schmid, some sanctions were perhaps more significant.
a ban from all Olympic Games for former sports minister and current russian deputy prime minister Vitaly Mutko is hugely embarrassing for FIFa ahead of next summer’s World Cup. Mutko remains the president of russian football and only last week he shared a stage with FIFa president Gianni Infantino as the head of the World Cup organising committee. FIFa are taking no immediate action.
In 2015 an independent, WaDacommissioned report into russian doping said there was evidence that pointed to doping in russian football.
This has since been supported by evidence presented by former russian anti-doping chief turned whistleblower Dr Grigory rodchenkov. Last night, however, schmid said ‘ many allegations that were made (by rodchenkov with regard to russian football) we could not verify’.
‘That doesn’t mean they are erroneous,’ added schmid. ‘But we were unable to prove they were correct.’
Bach was asked if he would attend the World Cup final in Moscow next July as a guest of FIFa. ‘I don’t have an invitation but when the invitation comes I will decide,’ he said.
russia continue to deny there was state-sponsored doping and today a decision is expected on whether President Vladimir Putin will call for russia’s clean athletes to boycott the Games. Last night russian state television company VGTrK said it would not broadcast events in Pyeongchang.
schmid said the findings were based ‘only on material evidence. We have never seen such manipulation and cheating and this has caused unprecedented damage to sport,’ he said.
a statement from the IOC listed the sanctions, primarily ‘to suspend the russian Olympic Committee (rOC) with immediate effect’. It also said the IOC would ‘ not accredit any official from the russian Ministry of sport for the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018’.
IOC will ‘ exclude the then Minister of sport, Mr Vitaly Mutko, and his then Deputy Minister, Mr Yuri Nagornykh, from all future Olympic Games’.
rOC president alexander Zhukov has been suspended as an IOC member.
The IOC also fined the rOC 15 million Us dollars (£11.16m) to reimburse the costs of the various investigations into russia’s cheating and help set up the IOC’s new independent testing authority.
It ‘ may partially or fully lift the suspension of the rOC from the commencement of the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018 provided these decisions are fully respected and implemented by the rOC and by the invited athletes and officials’.
The Us Olympics rights holder NBC applauded the decision in a tweet: ‘We believe in clean competition and strong actions to ensure it. Therefore, we fully support today’s IOC decision, which levels significant sanctions against the guilty, but also provides a path for clean athletes to compete in Pyeongchang.’
sports minister Tracey Crouch tweeted: ‘Pleased that the IOC has taken this decision. It is an important step.’