Russia’s football doctor says players cleanest in world

MOSCOW: Russia’s World Cup team doctor claimed on Monday that his country’s domestic football leagues were cleaner than any other sport on the planet.

Doping allegations have dogged Russia as it prepares to host the World Cup for the first time in mid-June.Russian athletes were forced to take part in the Pyeongchang Winter Games under a neutral Olympic flag because of cheating at the 2014 event in Sochi.

Yet Russian team doctor Eduard Bezuglov said there were simply no grounds for suspicion against players because they have all been clean for years.He explained that the RFU and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) were holding “mandatory online courses” and publishing medical guidelines for teams in all football leagues.

“There is no such thing anywhere else in the world,” Bezuglov told the RIA Novosti state news agency.“In other words, I do not know of any other sport that does not have a problem with banned drugs. But Russian football does not have this problem.”The world football governing body FIFA is still investigation allegations about past or present violations in the Russian game.