Russian World Cup loses top official
Vitaly Mutko ,a deputy prime minister in Russia and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, announced Wednesday that he is stepping down as head of the 2018 World Cup organizing committee.
Mutko has been accused of operating a state-run doping operation in Russia, which led the International Olympic Committee to strip numerous athletes of their Olympic medals. Plus, the Russian Federation has been banned from next year’s PyeongChang Winter Olympics, though individual Russian athletes who have been cleared of doping may compete under the designation of an “Olympic Athlete from Russia.”
Earlier this month, Mutko received a lifetime Olympic ban from the IOC over the doping scheme, a sanction he intends to appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The issue of Russian doping is likely to remain in the news as the country prepares to host the World Cup. Grigory Rodchenkov, the Russian whistleblower who provided evidence of the Russian doping scheme and now is in hiding in the United States, has alleged that the country’s soccer teams took part in the scheme.
But FIFA has refused to follow the IOC’s lead in sanctioning Russia or Mutko, in part because any punishment of the country’s national team would throw next year’s tournament into chaos. In other soccer news: • Liverpool is breaking the world transfer record for a defender by signing Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in a $100 million move.
Trainer Van Berg dies at age 81
Jack Van Berg, a Hall of Fame trainer who oversaw Alysheba to victories in the 1987 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, died Wednesday. He was 81.
He died in a Little Rock, Ark., hospital, according to a spokeswoman for Oaklawn Park, where Van Berg had relocated his training base after leaving Southern California in 2013. No cause was given.
Van Berg ranks fourth all-time among trainers in North America, with 6,523 victories He had career purse earnings of $85,925,482.
Airline gives players apology
American Airlines has apologized to two black professional basketball players who were kicked off a plane in Dallas after a flight attendant accused them of stealing blankets.
Airline spokesman Joshua Freed said Memphis Hustle guard Marquis Teague and forward Trahson Burrell boarded the flight bound for Sioux Falls, S.D., on Sunday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The are members of the Memphis Grizzlies’ G League team.
6-game ban for Coyotes center
Arizona center Zac Rinaldo has been suspended six games for punching Colorado’s Samuel Girard. During Arizona’s 6-2 loss to Colorado on Saturday, Rinaldo delivered an aggressive check on Nathan MacKinnon. Girard confronted Rinaldo,who punched the rookie in the face. In other news: • Top overall draft pick Nico Hischier scored two goals in the first period, and the New Jersey Devils extended their season-high winning streak to five games with a 3-1 victory over the visiting Detroit Red Wings.