Russia "Sorry" And "Ashamed" Of Cheats

In the letter to the Sunday Times, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko stops short of admitting the Russian state was complicit in doping

Russia is “very sorry” and “ashamed” of cheating athletes who were not caught by its anti-doping systems, the country’s sports minister has said.

Russia was banned from international competition after a damning report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

But Vitaly Mutko argues not lifting the ban for the 2016 Rio Olympics would be “unfair and disproportionate” and that clean athletes should not be punished.

They will have been rigorously tested by Rio, he writes in the Sunday Times.

Wada’s report depicted a culture of systematic state-sponsored cheating by Russia’s athletes, with even the secret services involved.

It said the All-Russia Athletics Federation (ARAF), the Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA), and the Russian Athletics Federation had failed to comply with anti-doping procedures.

“We do not deny having a problem in Russia, and we are doing everything possible at state level to eradicate doping, including punishing athletes and coaches found to have violated anti-doping rules,” Mutko writes.

“But doping is a global problem, not just a Russian problem.”

Mutko says by the time Rio gets under way in August, Russian athletes hoping to compete will have been through a minimum of three anti-doping controls by the sport’s world governing body – the IAAF – in addition to in-competition testing.

“These are men and women who have sacrificed years of their lives striving to compete at the very highest level, who have dreamed of taking part in the Olympic Games, and who now face having their sacrifice wasted and their dreams shattered.”

He adds: “The reasons for the All-Russian Athletics Federation being suspended from the IAAF have been well-documented.

“They are weighty. Serious mistakes have been made by the federation management, along with athletes and coaches who have broken anti-doping rules and neglected the principle of fair play, so fundamental to sport for immediate benefits.

“Let us be clear. We are ashamed of them.”

However, Mutko stops short of admitting that the doping scandal was state sponsored.

“We are very sorry that athletes who tried to deceive us, and the world, were not caught sooner. We are very sorry because Russia is committed to upholding the highest standards in sport and is opposed to anything that threatens the Olympic values.”

Read more on Russia doping allegations:
Russian agents covered up Sochi doping, alleges whistleblower
Athletics doping scandal: Russia federation accepts IAAF ban
Key questions answered following report into Russia athletics doping
What if the trust goes out of sport?

He says measures put in place since the ban – including handing over all testing to the UK Anti-Doping Agency until Russia’s own programme is restored, changing the leadership of Russian athletics and handing over alleged doping cases to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne – means testing is now “extra transparent”.

“No other country’s athletes will have been placed under the spotlight to the same degree as ours will be,” Mutko writes. “Such an intense glare does not allow anywhere for cheats to hide.”

He finishes the letter with: “We have done everything that has been asked of us by the IAAF in order to be reinstated.

“It would be unjust to demand all these changes and measures, witness them happen, and then still punish Russia’s athletes.”

BBC

Russia "Sorry" And "Ashamed" Of Cheats

Brazil Name Copa America Squad, Kaka And Oscar Out

Santos starlet Gabriel ‘Gabigol’ Barbosa and Liverpool’s Coutinho were among those named in Brazil coach Dunga’s final 23-man squad for June’s Copa America Centenario.

Orlando City’s Kaka, Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino, PSG’s Lucas Moura and Cheslea’s Oscar were were among 17 players to be cut from the preliminary 40-man squad announced last week.

The others were Marcelo Grohe, Fagner, Alex Sandro, Jemerson, Gabriel Paulista, Wallace, Fernandinho, Ganso, Felipe Anderson, Luan, Jonas, Alex Teixeira and Gabriel Jesus.

Captain Neymar will be absent after an agreement was reached with Barcelona that will see the forward play the Rio Olympic games instead.

Inter defender Miranda and Chelsea midfielder Willian, Dunga’s first choices for his remaining two overage slots at the games, were named in the final 23 which appears to have ruled them out of the Olympics.

Real Madrid’s Casemiro returns to the squad following an impressive season with Spanish giants, as does Barcelona’s Rafinha who had been missing since suffering a serious knee injury in September.

Elias of Corinthians, Dunga’s most-capped midfielder after Willian, also returns after overcoming injury problems.

Any late replacements to the squad must be selected from the remaining 17 from Dunga’s preliminary squad.

Brazil have been drawn in Group B of the centenary version of the competition, set to be played in USA, alongside Ecuador, Haiti and Peru.

The Copa America Centenario has been organized to celebrate 100-years of the South American football championships. It will be played outside of the continent for the first time and feature six teams from North American Confederation CONCACAF

Brazil’s Copa America Centenario squad

Goalkeepers: Alisson (Internacional), Diego Alves (Valencia), Ederson (Benfica)

Defenders: Miranda (Inter), Gil (Shandong Luneng), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Rodrigo Caio (Sao Paulo), Dani Alves (Barcelona), Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid), Fabinho (Monaco), Douglas Santos (Atletico Mineiro)

Midfielders: Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Elias (Corinthians), Renato Augusto (Beijing Guoan), Coutinho (Liverpool), Lucas Lima (Santos), Willian (Chelsea), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Rafinha (Barcelona)

Forwards: Douglas Costa (Bayern Munich), Hulk (Zenit), Gabigol (Santos), Ricardo Oliveira (Santos)

Goal

Brazil Name Copa America Squad, Kaka And Oscar Out

PSG Willing To Pay €300 Million For Neymar And Cristiano Ronaldo

French side, Paris Saint Germain (PSG) are reportedly willing to make massive investments to take a higher step next season in a bid to win the European Champions League.

According to the information from France Football, the French side are considering to pay almost €300 million to bring two big stars of world football, Neymar from Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.

The desire of PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi is for someone to replace Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović, who has a contract only until June, and could leave the club.

 

The French publication adds that Neymar is one of the obsessions of Al-Khelaïfi, and the President does not rule out paying the Brazilian’s release clause of €190m.

Asked about a possible transfer, World Cup winner and Brazil’s legendary striker Ronaldo said he thinks Neymar will stay at Barcelona.

He told Canal+: “He will continue at Barça. I do not think he will come out of Barça. He is well adapted to the team and the city. I do not believe that this transfer will be a reality”.

Sambafoot

PSG Willing To Pay €300 Million For Neymar And Cristiano Ronaldo

Bikes To Be Scanned For "Mechanical Doping" At Tour De France And Olympics

Bikes will be tested at the Tour de France and Olympics to try to find hidden motors and stop ‘mechanical doping’, cycling’s governing body says.

The UCI says up to 12,000 bikes will be tested this year using a new scanning system introduced in January.

Belgium’s Femke van den Driessche was banned for six years last month in the first proven case of mechanical doping.

“If you use this method of cheating, we will catch you,” UCI president Brian Cookson said.

The UCI believes that its new system of magnetic resonance scanning, which detects motors, magnets and batteries, is more effective than using heat-seeking cameras.

UCI technical manager Mark Barfield says riders who switch bikes mid-race could be targeted.

Demonstrating its testing technology on Tuesday, the UCI says the one hidden motor found – in Van den Driessche’s bike at the Cyclo-cross World Championships in Belgium in January – was at the first event where magnetic resonance scans were used.

Van den Driessche, the former European Under-23 champion, has denied suggestions she deliberately cheated, saying the bike was not hers.

UCI regulations, which were recently strengthened, state a rider is given a minimum suspension of six months and a fine of up to 200,000 Swiss francs (£141,000) for an offence of “technological fraud”, while coaches, mechanics and other officials could also be sanctioned.

BBC

Bikes To Be Scanned For "Mechanical Doping" At Tour De France And Olympics

Rooney And Carrick Praise De Gea Display

It was a close contest but David De Gea has beaten off competition from Anthony Martial to win Manchester United’s Man of the Match award for Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup semi-final.

The Spanish goalkeeper was truly exceptional in the 2-1 victory over Everton and made a plethora of saves to deny the Toffees, though it was his dramatic penalty stop to thwart Romelu Lukaku in the second half that prompted the loudest cheers of his name among the Reds supporters at Wembley.

Martial scored a game-changing winner in the 93rd minute that means United will contest the FA Cup final against Watford or Crystal Palace next month, and the Frenchman earned 42 per cent of votes cast by followers of @ManUtd. But that was not enough to beat De Gea’s 49 per cent and he has been rightly praised by his team-mates, including fellow Man of the Match nominee Wayne Rooney.

“It was a great penalty save,” the captain told MUTV after the final whistle at the national stadium. “The pace with which the ball was hit shows he has a strong arm on him, and Everton had momentum behind them at that time. He’s the main reason why we’ve got to this final.”

Michael Carrick also paid tribute to De Gea following his heroics against the Toffees and praised the keeper’s incredible consistency in recent seasons.

“I don’t think it was a bad penalty, but David was sensational today – how many times have we said that over the last few years?” the midfielder said.

“He’s kept us in the game again; it’s almost what we’ve come to expect from him. Hopefully he can have quieter games between now and the end of the season!”

Rooney And Carrick Praise De Gea Display