President Vladimir Putin says he wants Russia to carry out its own investigation into allegations its athletes have systematically taken
ADVERTISEMENTPresident Vladimir Putin says he wants Russia to carry out its own investigation into allegations its athletes have systematically taken performance-enhancing drugs.
Speaking for the first time on the scandal while a visit with sports officials in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, the president also said not all athletes should be tarred with the same brush.
‘‘Responsibility should be personalised, it is a general rule that the responsibility always should be personalised. And for sure those athletes who are far away from doping and have never touched it should not be held responsible for those who violate rules’‘.
'Sports are only attractive if there is fair play' – Putin on doping scandal (LIVE) https://t.co/ynDyp9jk82pic.twitter.com/MKnxag13WI
— RT (@RT_com) November 11, 2015
Russia has until Friday to respond to a damning report by the World’s Anti-Doping Agency which alleged a culture of cheating in Russian athletics. In the meantime the sports minister has pledged his country will adopt new measures to clamp down on doping including devising new testing methods.
Russia could be banned from international athletics, including the 2016 Olympic Games, after WADA found a “deeply routed culture of cheating” in Russian athletics, which it said Russian state security services colluded with, and also identified what it called systematic failures in the global governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).