LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) – Doping investigator Richard McLaren says criticism of his report into Russian doping is “nitpicking.”
McLaren tells The Associated Press the “substance” of his work for the World Anti-Doping Agency has “not really been challenged.”
Recent comments by sports bodies, including the IOC, refer to inadequate translations of Russian documents, and the likelihood some athlete disciplinary cases will fail.
McLaren calls the translation issue “a complete red herring to obfuscate and disguise what is going on.”
The Canadian lawyer says his task was verifying claims by former Moscow laboratory director Grigory Rodchenkov of orchestrated doping, and not to prove doping cases against more than 1,000 Russian athletes.
McLaren says “what is happening now is trying to turn the mandate into something it never was.”