Russia

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has suspended the accreditation of the Moscow Antidoping Center, with Russian President Vladimir Putin set to meet with Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko tomorrow (Wednesday) amid the doping crisis surrounding Russian sport.

The Russian Sports Ministry has today (Tuesday) said it is open to closer co-operation with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) to put an end to any irregularities committed by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) and its accredited laboratory, as officials rallied behind the country’s practices in the wake of yesterday’s explosive report.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has said it will consider sanctions against the Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) after a hugely critical report from a World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) panel accused the country’s government of complicity in widespread doping and cover ups of positive tests by its athletes, adding that the nation should be banned from competition.

The former director of the International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) anti-doping department has been placed under criminal investigation as part of the latest crisis to hit the sport, while the Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) has suspended five athletes ahead of the publication of a major report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).

Suspended Fifa president Sepp Blatter has claimed that Uefa president Michel Platini backed out of a “gentleman’s agreement” to support the US bid to host the 2022 World Cup after coming under pressure from former France President Nicolas Sarkozy to back Qatar.

According to the TASS news agency, the Russian Sports Ministry has been forced to make cuts to the national team ice hockey tournament due to an economic slump that is placing pressure on the government’s budget.

The Russian city of Kazan will host the World Mixed Curling Championship in 2016, it has been announced.

Suspended Fifa president Sepp Blatter has suggested that an agreement was in place for the 2018 World Cup to be awarded to Russia before a vote on the destination for the national team football tournament took place.

Russian conglomerate USM Holdings, owned by billionaire Alisher Usmanov, has invested around $100m (€88.1m) in Russia’s largest esports company Virtus.pro.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) has issued a heavily revised calendar for Formula One’s 2016 season and has detailed plans to increase the noise levels associated with the motor racing series, while Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak has said talks are underway to extend Sochi’s race contract and potentially switch the Russian Grand Prix to a night race.

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has returned to the role of president of the Russian Football Union (RFU) with an immediate remit of addressing the precarious financial position the organisation finds itself in.

Plans have been revealed to revive motorsport’s Silk Way Rally and transform it into a major event running from Moscow to Beijing, with the Chinese and Russian governments, along with Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom, backing the project.

After adidas prised Houston Rockets star, James Harden, away from Nike for $200m last month, we look at whether it was enough to give the German giant the upper hand in its age-old rivalry with the Americans.

Elisha Chauhan travelled to Kazan to watch the biggest ever Fina World Championships, but in a time of cost-cutting and efficiency why is the aquatics showpiece growing in size?

Former NBA star Andrei Kirilenko has pledged to turn around the fortunes of the Russian Basketball Federation (RBF) after today (Tuesday) being elected as the new president of the embattled governing body.

The Russian Sports Ministry has proposed an increase in the budget for preparations ahead of football’s 2018 Fifa World Cup national team tournament in the country.