Russians denyany dopingin football
RUSSIAN football chiefs are under fire again over their suitability to host next summer’s World Cup but have come out fighting.
Less than a year before the tournament kicks off claims have emerged that their entire squad for the 2014 competition were involved in state-sponsored doping.
All 23 players in the Russia squad who went out at the group stage three years ago in Brazil are being looked at as part of a broader scandal.
Russian deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko, who claimed they had cleaned up on racism and hooliganism, said: “There have never been and will never be problems with doping in our football.
“Our team undergo tests after every match. They have written some sort of nonsense. Don’t bother reading English newspapers.”
FIFA, however, are still looking at the McLaren report which says at least 30 sports, including football, covered up samples of more than 1000 athletes between 2011-2015.
The Russians claim no one from the World Cup has returned a positive test.
A spokesman said: “FIFA said the World Anti-Doping Agency is investigating allegations involving footballers in the McLaren report but they did not refer to any particular players.”
The latest controversy follows several others for Russia after most of their track and field team and their full Paralympics squad were banned from last year’s Olympics in Rio over doping.