Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/705249
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 20 JULY 2016 20 Sport SPORTTODAY OLYMPICS FOOTBALL Russia suspends senior sports officials over doping scandal RUSSIA suspended a raft of sen- ior sports officials yesterday after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said they were heavily involved in a state-backed cheat- ing scheme at the 2014 Sochi winter Olympics. Russian President Vladimir Pu- tin had said on Monday that any government officials identified in the WADA report, which found evidence of widespread cheating at the Sochi Games, would be temporarily suspended. Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told the R-Sport news agency he had suspended his anti-doping advisor Natalia Zhelanova as well as Irina Rodionova, deputy head of Russia's state-funded Sports Preparation Centre, and two oth- er officials. Canadian sports lawyer Richard McLaren, who headed the WA- DA investigation, said Zhelanova and Rodionova had worked close- ly with Russian Deputy Sports Minister Yury Nagornykh to cover up positive doping tests by Russian sports people since 2011. Nagornykh was suspended on Monday after the report's publi- cation. Mutko said his own suspension was not being discussed and that no allegations had been made against him. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Mutko had not been named in the WADA report as being directly involved in the cover ups. "My suspension is not being considered - it is a matter for the president and prime minister to decide," R-Sport quoted Mutko as saying. "There were no accusations made against me and there can- not be because it is absolutely un- realistic and impossible." Russian President Vladimir Putin Conte pours cold water on Costa transfer speculation CHELSEA manager Antonio Conte indicated that striker Diego Costa will stay at the club, despite a series of reports in the Spanish media linking him with a return to Atletico Madrid. The 27-year-old has scored 36 goals in over 70 appearances for the Premier League side, but net- ted just 12 times last season as the club finished 10th in the table. Costa joined Chelsea from Atletico in 2014 after spending six years over two spells with the Spanish club. "Diego Costa is our player, he's a fantastic player with fundamental importance. He's very happy and is working hard," Conte told re- porters on Tuesday. Winger Juan Cuadrado was shipped out on loan to Juventus last season and scored five goals in 40 appearances to help the Italian side to the league and cup double. Conte said he was willing to give the Colombia international a chance to prove himself at Stam- ford Bridge. "Cuadrado is Chelsea's player. I like him. He arrived today and this afternoon he starts to train with us," said the 46-year-old dur- ing the club's pre-season training camp in Austria. Conte will begin his tenure in England with a London derby against West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Aug. 15. Diego Costa Half of Brazilians opposed to hosting Olympics just weeks before event according to poll HALF of Brazilians have said they are opposed to hosting the Olym- pics that begin in less than three weeks amid deepening concern over the high cost of the games, according to a poll published on Tuesday. That is double the percentage who said they were opposed to Rio's hosting of the games when the same poll was taken in 2013. The Datafolha polling institute survey published in the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper also found that 63 percent of those asked in the latest poll think the Olympics will bring more costs than ben- efits, up from 38 percent three years ago. With a price tag of 40-billion reais ($12.3 billion) reais, Rio's games will be held as a deep re- cession grinds through its second year and with unemployment at over 11 percent. On the political front, Bra- zil's suspended President Dilma Rousseff is facing an impeach- ment trial and may be ousted just days after the Olympics end Aug. 21. Rio de Janeiro state is one of Brazil's most indebted. Its gover- nor in recent weeks had to declare a "state of calamity" to secure some 2.9 billion reais ($892 mil- lion) in federal emergency funds just to pay police and keeps hospi- tals open through the games. Crime in Rio has been rising re- cently - though officials say over 85,000 police and soldiers will be on the streets to ensure safety, double the force London had dur- ing its 2012 games. Yet the specter of a terror attack worries authorities, following the recent bloodshed in Europe, the United States and elsewhere. Federal prosecutors meanwhile have said they are investigating allegations of corruption in sever- al projects, including both Olym- pic venues and so-called legacy projects, such as the extension of a subway line and the refurbish- ing of a dilapidated port area. Most of the building for the Olympics has been carried out by construction firms ensnared in Brazil's biggest corruption scandal, a kickback scheme at state-run oil company Petrobras [PETR4.SA]. Despite all that, the survey did find that 40 percent asked say they approve Rio holding the games. The remaining 10 percent said they were indifferent or did not respond to the question. Datafolha interviewed 2,792 people across Brazil on July 14 and 15. The survey has a margin of error of 2 percentage points. An aerial view of the 2016 Rio Olympics Village in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil