Mutko left out in the cold as Russian FA backs Gazprom chief for new president
KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTS: Vitaly Mutko’s apparently imminent return to a front-line position in Russian sport appears to been shelved.
Mutko was the Sports Minister handed the brunt of international blame for the sports doping cover-up project revealed by a variety of whistleblowers, investigative journalists and reports to the World Anti-Doping Association.
The international storm cost Mutko, a long-time acolyte of President Vladimir Putin, not only his role as Sports Minister but his long-secure appointments to the governing councils of both world football federation FIFA and European governing body UEFA.
Mutko stood down temporarily as head of the Russian Football Union last December 25 to prepare an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a life ban from the Olympics decreed by the IOC.
Then, in March, he was removed from the sport/political firing line when it was deemed his appointment as a deputy prime minister meant he needed to be replaced as chairman of the local organising committee for Russia’s hosting of the 2018 World Cup finals.
Rehabilitation hint
Now, with the World Cup safely and successfully out of the way and WADA opening the door to Russia’ return to the Olympic arena, it had been thought Mutko might be rehabilitated into international sport.
Last week some Russian media outlets reported that Mutko was poised to reclaim the RFU presidency which has been held, in a caretaker role, by Alexander Alaev, the general secretary and former beach soccer player.
However those news items have now vanished on the appearance of reports that the new president of the RFU will be Alexander Dyukov, chairman of the board of oil giant Gazprom Neft, .
Dyukov, 50, is president of Zenit St Petersburg – a role once held by Mutko.
The TASS news agency has described Dyukov as having been nominated as “main candidate” by the RFU executive committee after consultations with Igor Levitin, a former Transport Minister who has been a senior aide to Putin since 2013.
FIFA is reportedly “monitoring the situation.”
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