International Football
WADA WANTS FIFA SANCTION ON ODEMWINGIE’S FORMER CLUB, LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW OVER DOPE SCANDAL
BY LIAM MORGAN
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will ask FIFA to intervene after former Deputy Sports Minister Yuri Nagornykh, one of the masterminds of the Russian doping scandal, was appointed to the Board of Premier League club Lokomotiv Moscow.
Nigeria’s former international, Osaze Odemwingie in the seasons 2007 to 2010 featured for the club which is currently the Russian champion.
WADA President Sir Craig Reedie confirmed the organisation would approach world football’s governing body to see if it can take action against Nagornykh following his re-emergence on the sporting scene.
Sir Craig conceded WADA had no authority to sanction Nagornykh and any possible punishment or intervention would have to come from FIFA.
Nagornykh was identified by the McLaren Report as one of the main actors of the orchestrated doping scheme carried out by Russia at major events, including their home Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi.
He was subsequently banned from the Olympic Games, along with former Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, by the International Olympic Committee for his role in the scandal.
This week, however, he was appointed to the board at Lokomotiv Moscow, the current Russian champions and one of the country’s biggest clubs.
His emergence back onto the sporting scene following his resignation as Deputy Sports Minister in 2016 has proved controversial owing to his involvement in the doping scheme.
Sir Craig said he was made aware of Nagornykh becoming a Board member at the club by whistleblower Vitaly Stepanov in a letter obtained by ARD.
He added that WADA was “clearly not overjoyed when someone who was clearly at the heart of all of this” is given a high-profile role in sport.
“Can we do anything? I don’t know but we will look at it,” Sir Craig told insidethegames following the WADA Annual Symposium here.
“I don’t know if we have any authority.
“We can ask Gianni Infantino and FIFA if their rules allow them to do something and certainly we are prepared to do that.”
The appointment of Nagornykh follows allegations that coaches involved in Russian athletics’ discredited old regime in the nation are still involved with current competitors.
ARD alleged that the former head coach of the country’s athletics team, Valentin Maslakov, who resigned at the height of the doping scandal four years ago, remains involved in the Russian system.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Taskforce on Russia has requested an urgent meeting with the Russian Athletics Federation to discuss the allegations.
“We would be interested to speak with the IAAF to find out how active he is because we do have the prohibited association rule,” Sir Craig added.
insidethegames has contacted FIFA for comment.
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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