All you need to know about the doping scandal of Russian athletes

Yesterday's events can more than seriously affect the position of Russia in world sports.

Let's start in order. The scandal is so loud and with so unpredictable consequences that it would be necessary to carefully and point by point.

The main thing: the independent commission of the World Doping Agency (WADA) recommended take away The All-Russian Athletics Federation of membership in the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and prohibit Russian athletes from taking part in the 2016 Olympiad of the Year in Rio de Janeiro.

Home investigation put the film of the German documentary filmmaker Hayo Zeppelt. The film caused the effect of a bombshell: the creators of the film blamed leading Russian athletes for systematically using prohibited drugs.

The highlight of the film was two videotapes made using a mobile phone.

In the first video, the famous Russian runner, Olympic champion of London in the 800 meters, Maria Savinova, tells how she took doping. The second shows how Savinova’s trainer, Vladimir Ghazaryan, gives the illicit drug oxandrolone to other athletes.

The film claims that multiple champion of the prestigious marathon races Lilia Shobukhova, deprived of all victories since 2009 and disqualified for two years for doping, paid 450 thousands of euros to the leadership of the athletics federation. In return, she was allowed to participate in the Olympic Games-2012.

The official sports authorities of Russia reacted to the film as the official sports authorities of the country should have reacted. All this is slander, it is necessary to understand, there is a politician. And the subtext: everyone accepts dope, and they only got into Russia, this is not fair.

However, Russia tried to minimize future losses. Valentina Balakhnichev, RUSADA (Russian anti-doping agency) announced the disqualification of several walkers of the infamous Chegin school from the post of head of the All-Russian Athletics Federation.

But, as shown by yesterday's events, it was all an attempt to drive into the tube already squeezed toothpaste.

What, in fact, was said yesterday?

And the following was said: the use of doping in Russian sports was put on the state level.

The name of the Minister of Sport Vitaly Mutko was mentioned: the report noted that in some cases it was the Minister who gave instructions on the destruction of a doping test.

The Moscow anti-doping laboratory actually prevented the fight against doping, destroying samples of athletes in large quantities.

The report of the commission stated that the laboratory had practically become a branch of the FSB, whose employees weekly listened to a report on the situation with doping checks, carefully interviewed the laboratory staff after each WADA workshop, installed listening devices and video cameras in the laboratory.

The head of the commission said that in the light of the outbreak of scandal, there is reason to question the purity of the results of the Russian team at the Olympics in Sochi.

In the 335-page report a special place is given to the charges, the essence of which lies in the direct influence of the Russian authorities on anti-doping structures. According to WADA, all violations were covered by the Ministry of Sport and the FSB.

“The Moscow anti-doping laboratory did not operate independently of the Russian anti-doping agency or the Ministry of Sports, as required by the documents. Its impartiality, objectivity and transparency were violated by FSB surveillance, including during the Sochi Olympics.

During various interviews, Moscow laboratory staff and athletes reported that the Ministry of Sports directly influenced the laboratory. When the commission asked who gave instructions on the manipulation and manipulation of samples, a laboratory employee said: “The instructions came directly from the Ministry of Sports,” media quoted quotes from the report.

The document refers to the testimony of one of the employees of the Russian anti-doping laboratory, where he claims that during the Games in Sochi several people pretended to be engineers, although in fact they were FSB officers.

Let us take a break for a second to understand the depth of the abyss, where sports Russia is being pushed.

In the West, Russian athletes have long been consistently suspected of doping. All sports fans remember scandals with famous Russian skiers at the 2002 Olympics of the year. The Swedish and Norwegian press has long chosen the topic of the mass use of prohibited means by members of the Russian men's and women's biathlon teams.

However, it's not just in the West.

Russia also drew attention to the fact that the situation with doping has taken extremely undesirable shapes. Last year, Sports Minister Mutko said the following: “There are a number of sports that are already on the brink. Let's say swimming. The number of anti-doping rule violations on the international stage is on the brink. One or two more violations and the federation may be disqualified altogether.”

It seems that this time only the assurances that we will figure out where necessary and punish those who follow should not be limited.

The situation is clearly facing serious problems. And not only in athletics. And not only in 2016 year

Russia was given two weeks to “answer Chamberlain,” that is, Pound, the head of the independent investigation.

It is already roughly clear what the Russians will “feed” the accusing party. Minister Mutko said that storing doping samples for ten years is stupid, what to store here: the tournament is over, the medals have been received - goodbye. The Russian Athletics Federation emphasizes that the former leadership has been dismissed, and the current leadership is not responsible for excesses in the field that occurred during Balakhnichev’s reign.

Acting President of the All-Russian Athletics Federation Vadim Zelichenok argues that violations must be proved by the federation, and not by individual athletes.

Lawyer of the All-Russian Athletics Federation Artem Patsev sees naked politics in all this: “This whole thing smacks of a political order and nothing else. When they can’t find real leads, they try to put pressure ethically - through various committees and commissions.”

Let us note that these words closely echo the words of Sports Minister Mutko, said at the end of the summer: “A film was shown about doping in Russia, and a commission must be created immediately. And if there is a scandal in another country, no one creates any commission. This is a kind of political instrument of the West, and it’s not easy for us here. In big politics, no one wants Russian sports to take the place of Soviet sports,” Mutko said.

What will happen - or rather, what can be

And maybe not bad, but very bad, and much worse than very bad. Russian athletes may be deprived of the right to participate in the 2016 Games of the Year.

Athletics is the number one sport at the Olympics. To go to the Games without athletes is the same as asking for the hands of a young and hot bride with a certificate of complete and hopeless impotence.

Plus, it's a matter of prestige. To go to Rio without athletes is to admit guilt, admit weakness. The only way not to recognize weaknesses is to not go to Rio at all. Not with athletes, nor with wrestlers.

But not to go to Rio in general means to cast doubt on the 2018 World Cup of the year.

And in general, the story with the recommendation of the committee can hit the event very hard. According to the World Cup.

Further more

Mention Mutko in the context of scandal can not but cause the reactions of those who, again, sleep and see how not to hold the World Cup in Russia. Indeed, in fact, Russia was accused of putting pressure on the sport by the authorities. And this is the biggest crime, according to the FIFA statute. For such things here immediately remove the federation from all tournaments.

Recall that Minister Mutko is the main figure in Russian football, he was recently elected head of the Russian Football Union. And if until yesterday, FIFA turned a blind eye to the fact that the Minister of Sports, that is, a representative of state power became the boss of national football, then today you will have to open your eyes.

Especially considering that today is in FIFA. They will not open their eyes to this - they may close their eyes to FIFA as the main organization in world football.