MOSCOW (AP) – A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin has strongly denied allegations that the sports ministry might be personally involved in covering up doping cases in the country.
A documentary by Germany’s ARD to be broadcast later Wednesday alleges it has evidence that Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has personally intervened to bury a leading soccer player’s positive test and video footage of banned coaches working with elite athletes.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Russia is committed to working with international bodies to battle doping but that it views the allegations against Mutko as libel.
Peskov says “until there is hard evidence to back up those claims, that libel, we will treat this as libel.”