Russia opens criminal case against former anti-doping chief

By Euronews

Published on 18/06/2016 - 16:18

Russian federal investigators announced on Saturday they had opened a criminal case against the country’s former anti-doping chief Grigory Rodchenkov on charges of “abuse of…

Russian federal investigators announced on Saturday they had opened a criminal case against the country’s former anti-doping chief Grigory Rodchenkov on charges of “abuse of power”.

The 57-year-old, who reportedly lives in the United States, has spoken widely about how one of the superpowers of track and field ran a cover-up of doping by dozens of its athletes at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

The announcement comes less than 24 hours after the International Association of Athletics Federations IAAF said it would uphold its ban on Russia’s track and field team for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August over systematic doping.

The International Olympic Committee was quick to back this stance and added the ruling was in line with its “zero-tolerance policy”.