Russia's football doctor says players cleanest in world

Russia's World Cup team doctor claimed today 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 was forced to take part in the Pyeongchang Winter Games under a neutral Olympic flag because of cheating at the 2014 event in Sochi.

Former Russian Football Union (RFU) chief Vitaly Mutko oversaw national preparations for the 2014 Games.

He became closely associated with the scandal and stepped away from World Cup preparations in December.

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."
"He constantly told us: have meetings, explain things, educate and scare them, do whatever you want, but make sure there is no doping in football."