MOSCOW: Russia Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko, who has
been dogged by allegations of involvement in doping and was banned for
life from the Olympics this month, said on Monday he would temporarily
step down as president of the Russian Football Union while he contests
the ban in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
It’s a
move apparently intended to deflect international criticism as Russia
prepares to host the 2018 World Cup and Mutko is to appeal to the CAS on
Tuesday against the decision by the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) to ban him from the Games over allegations of state-sponsored
doping.
“I have decided to file the claim in the CAS
tomorrow,” he told journalists after a meeting of the RFU executive
committee. “So that our organisations are not disturbed during the legal
investigation... I have asked to suspend my duties for up to six
months.”
He said that he will continue his duties in the
government as well as preparing the World Cup until Russian leadership
decides otherwise.
“Regarding the issues of relationship
with FIFA and the organising committee, as long as the president
[Vladimir Putin] trusts me, I continue to work as deputy premier and
oversee the preparations for the world championships,” he said.
He
said he would “suggest” stepping down as chairman of the World Cup
organising committee he heads, but “it would be decided by the head of
state, the head of government and the supervisory board”.
Mutko, 58, said RFU’s director Alexander Alayev will become acting president for the duration of his own suspension.
Alayev told journalists that his goal would be to “keep stability” and “avoid any scandal” during the six months.
Mutko
said he decided to contest his ban in court because failure to do so
would make him seem guilty. However, he denied that he is resigning.
“I’m not resigning, my mandate is still active.”
Mutko
had been banned from the Rio 2016 Games. The IOC said this month it was
banning Russia from the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics after finding
evidence of “unprecedented systematic manipulation” of doping
procedures.
Despite the ban, Mutko has retained his role
as head of the Russia 2018 World Cup organising committee and would
retain the job of deputy prime minister overseeing sports.
Investigations
by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the IOC alleged that Mutko was
involved in a sophisticated state-sponsored doping programme during the
2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Mutko, who served as Russia’s sports
minister during the Games, has strongly denied all doping allegations.
The
IOC didn’t accuse Mutko of being personally involved in doping, but
banned him from the Olympics for life, saying he and his ministry bore
overall responsibility for “failure to respect” anti-doping rules.
Dmitry
Svishchev, a member of the committee for sports and tourism at the
lower house of Russian parliament, told the state RIA Novosti news
agency that Mutko was stepping down in order to defuse criticism of
Russia before the run-up to the World Cup.
At a joint
news conference with FIFA president Gianni Infantino ahead of the World
Cup draw in Moscow on December 1, Mutko reaffirmed his denial of the
doping accusations.
“There is no proof” Russian ran a
state-backed doping scheme, he said. “Nowadays everyone is trying to
make some kind of axis of evil out of us, just because we’re a great
sporting power.”
Mutko maintained Russian athletes at
the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games were clean and that Russia “did a colossal
job” to meet requirements by the world anti-doping body to clear its
name.
Mutko sat on FIFA’s ruling council until March,
when he was barred from running for re-election because his government
position was judged a conflict of interest. Mutko was replaced by his
longtime associate and fellow World Cup organiser Alexei Sorokin.
FIFA
has contacted Canadian law professor Richard McLaren about his report
about state-organised doping in Russia which named several Russian
footballers.
FIFA said Monday that Mutko’s decision will not impact the World Cup.
“FIFA
understands Mr Mutko’s decision which was also taken in the best
interest of the World Cup next summer,” the global football body said in
a statement. “FIFA thanks Mr. Mutko for this responsible step and for
the work carried out so far for the World Cup.”
FIFA
added that Mutko’s decision “will have no impact on the successful
staging of the World Cup next summer, as FIFA, the Russian Government,
RFU and the LOC continue their fruitful cooperation on the preparations
for the World Cup according to plan.”
“In the coming days, FIFA will discuss with all relevant parties and agree on the next steps related to the LOC.”
