Russian Mutko to appeal Olympic ban
Xinhua,December 26, 2017 Adjust font size:
MOSCOW, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko said Monday that he will temporarily leave the post as president of the Russian Football Union (RFU) and challenge a lifetime Olympic ban in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Mutko said at a news briefing that he will suspend the job for up to six months so that the RFU operation will not be disturbed during the legal procedure, local media reported.
He said he will continue to oversee the preparations for the FIFA World Cup matches to be held in Russia next summer.
Alexander Alaev will work as acting president of RFU when Mutko is away.
On Dec. 5, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned Mutko, Russia's then Minister of Sport during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, from participating in Olympics for life over his alleged involvement in state-sponsored doping.
The IOC also banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea in February 2018 over drug abuse concerns.
Russian officials have repeatedly denied government-backed doping. Enditem