International authorities to blame for Sochi Games doping scandal - Russia

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee and anti-doping authorities are to blame for a Russian doping scandal that tarnished the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko said on Thursday.

International authorities to blame for Sochi Games doping scandal - Russia

(Reuters)





The IOC and the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) failed to supervise drug tests properly and Russia is innocent of any doping and should not be held responsible for what happened, Mutko said.

Ten Russian Olympians, six cross-country skiers and four skeleton athletes were banned for life from the Olympics by the IOC this month for violating anti-doping rules at Sochi.

The bans stem from an IOC investigation into allegations of widespread doping among Russians and sample tampering by security officials at the anti-doping laboratory in Sochi.

It is one of the biggest cases of state-sponsored doping in Olympic history. Russia denies any role but has pledged to cooperate with international sports bodies to help rid the country of doping.

"People have been so brainwashed that Russia is to blame for everything that nobody remembers WADA's responsibility, nor that of the IOC," R-Sport news agency quoted Mutko as saying.

WADA should be asked about its employees who worked at the laboratory during the Games.

"What were they doing there? Sleeping?" Mutko said.

The IOC has been re-testing all Russian athletes' samples from the 2014 Games following revelations by Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Moscow's suspended anti-doping laboratory, of a scheme to cover up home competitors' positive samples.

The IOC is to decide next month on the participation of Russian competitors at the Pyeongchang winter Olympics in South Korea in February.

Russia's Paralympic committee, anti-doping agency RUSADA and athletics federation remain suspended over doping scandals.





(Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
International authorities to blame for Sochi Games doping scandal - Russia | SBS News