MOSCOW: Russia Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko, banned for life from the Olympics this month, is temporarily stepping down from his role as head of Russian Football Union (RFU), he said yesterday.
Mutko is to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) today against the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban him from the Games over allegations of state-sponsored doping.
“For the period of the proceedings I will suspend my work at the Russian Football Union for six months,” Mutko was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
The IOC said this month it was banning Russia from the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics after finding evidence of “unprecedented systematic manipulation” of doping procedures. .
Russia is hosting next year’s soccer World Cup in 11 cities including Moscow, St Petersburg and Sochi.
Mutko also said he was considering resigning as head of the World Cup’s organising committee.
“Regarding the issues of relationship with Fifa and the organising committee, as long as the president (Vladimir Putin) trusts me, I continue to work as deputy premier and oversee the preparations for the world championships,” he said.
He said he would “suggest” stepping down as chairman of the World Cup organising committee he heads, but “it would be decided by the head of state, the head of government and the supervisory board.”
Mutko said RFU’s director Alexander Alayev will become acting president for the duration of his own suspension, which could last less than six months depending on the duration of the legal proceedings.