MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said Saturday that there were no reasons to deprive Russia of hosting World Cup 2018 football championship after the doping scandal involving the country.
"At the moment, I don't see any connection between the current situation… and the 2018 [football] championship. I don't see any reasons," Mutko said.
On Thursday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the decision of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to ban Russian track-and-field athletes from competitions.
Top executives of the All-Russian Fans' Union, including its chief Alexander Shprygin, will resign due to misconduct at 2016 Football Championship, Vitaly Mutko said.
"The All-Russian Fans' Union has let us down. We have made a decision that its top executives should resign. At the upcoming conference we will exclude this organization from the Russian Football Union."
Russia will continue legal proceedings if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspends Russian athletes from 2016 Rio Games, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said on Saturday.
"Undoubtedly, we will continue legal proceedings if worse comes to worst. Shocking as the report may be it is not flawless," Mutko told journalists.
On Monday, an independent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) commission presented a report based on the results of its investigation into allegations that dozens of Russian athletes used performance-enhancing drugs at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Russia has been accused of running a state-wide doping program.
Following the release of the WADA report, the International Olympic Committee said that it would consider a collective ban for the entire Russian team.
