Without WADA: why it’s time Vitaly Mutko to resign
New portion of the ‘unrealistic and impossible’ accusations against the main figure of the Russian sport
The results of the investigation of WADA, according to my understanding, were to become the impetus for an objective investigation of the situation in the sports in our country as a whole. And not just on the subject of doping. Even regardless the presence of the truth in the report or even a part of it. But no. Fair but a little annoyed 'song' about the 'persecution' of the beloved Fatherland by the West came to be the answer. What is more, the Minister of Sport Vitaly Mutko called the accusations 'unrealistic and impossible'. But the last statement — I would argue. Read more in the article of Realnoe Vremya.
The West put pressure, but does it change anything?
This author of this article entirely agrees with the state concerns about the expansion of NATO to the borders of the Russian Federation. Besides, only blind and deaf cannot notice the practice of double standards in the interpretation of international law by the international community towards Russia. Yes, the fresh doping WADA report contains, in fact, only 'milk-and-water' — unsubstantiated and based on mere conclusions and statements not supported by arguments or facts (for that moment).
However, this does not deny a mess in the Russian sport. The trendsetter in our sport in recent years is the acting Minister of Sport Vitaly Mutko, whom the Chairman of the Commission WADA directly called involved in the manipulation of doping samples. 'Vitaly Mutko was aware of all the manipulation of doping samples. The FSB, successor to the KGB, to cover all of the action with samples of 'dirty' athletes in Russia. As Moscow and the Sochi lab was influenced by the Russian government, the FSB. Sports Minister Mutko directly affects the substitution of doping tests,' said McLaren.
It is the special commission that is authorized to verify the veracity of these words. However, the sports editorial board of Realnoe vremya presents the other reasons why Vitaly Mutko should resign as Minister on his own initiative. And to resign from the other posts, too. He also holds the post of President of the Russian Football Union (RFU).
The children's sport is worse than when it was during the poor 1990s
The author of this article started to do sport in the late 1980s. Now this story sounds unbelievable but near every ordinary house these was a small hockey box where any 5-9-year child could become a player in the children's team Lada. Remarkably, this club, being one of the outsiders among the Kazan ice hockey clubs, could provide 30-40 boys with a modern (at that times) hockey gear completely free. The club was coached by sane specialists, who earned significant for those times salary.
Such situation was not only in hockey or football but also in individual sports. What can we see today? Even hockey schools at KHL clubs require their students to purchase the whole expensive equipment at its own expense, that already cuts off about 20-30% of potential players. However, the skilled trainers work in these schools. In the rest of the teams the children's mentors work for little money (less than 10 thousand rubles a month). And clubs such as Lada just gone. Across Russia.
Yes, in Kazan there are many hockey boxes for kids across the city. But this is not the merit of the Russian Ministry of Sports but the executives of Tatarstan, past and present. In other cities the situation is deplorable. No systematic approach to training. At the national level such disastrous picture is in the most popular and well-known sports.
'Inconcrete and distorted'
'As always, everything in our country is inconcrete and distorted. We are developing 166 kinds of sport in our country, 53 out of them are Olympic. We are building training facilities. We are paying for and co-financing the participation in the competitions. Why are we doing that? We proceed from the fact the sport of high achievements is a kind of target fort he youth. The number of people who came to the sport during this time has increased almost twice: now 29% of the population is doing sports. We started with 14%,' said Mutko on air of TV channel Match TV after the fiasco of the Russian national football team in France.
Indeed, distorted. Let's start with percentage. It is well-known fact that the growing number of Russians involved in sports happened because of the entry of small and medium business in the sphere of fitness. Now almost any of us for relatively little money can get a range of services in the sport or fitness, as well as recreation opportunities (as a gift), making sports not only self-torment but pleasure. The merit of the Ministry of Sports — the most indirect, believe me.
Yes, Russia is investing big money in the elite training centers for members and candidates in the national team. Sometimes indecent money are spent on the naturalization of foreign athletes for the national team. Perhaps 5-10% of these expenditures would suffice to provide all children's sports schools in the country (all sports) with free sports facilities and coaches with a decent salary and relevant qualifications. But no, we need only gloss. So we gradually move on to the next step of 'the Mutko programme'.
It has become the norm to achieve success in the events where our competitors only 'assimilate' the youth. The apotheosis of this malpractice in the Russian sports became the World University Games held in Kazan. Our main competitors are mostly little-known athletes who were to get competitive practice at the international level. Only we have brought to Kazan almost the country's Olympic team, winning the medal standings with truly obscene advantage.
Euro Hockey Tour — 'our all'
This is not the only demonstration of a strange setting of priorities. Let's refer to the most 'Russian' of the popular sports — hockey. In the world ranking of competitive calendar the priorities are placed in the following way. In the first place, of course, is the Olympic Games. Then follows the World Cup. With a large gap in importance from them goes the annual World Junior Championships. Then follows the annual World Championships among adults teams. Finally, the matches of the Hockey Euro Tour, which in Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic are perceived as a kind of test matches for the national teams, where it is possible to 'train' the young, who has no chance to play at least in the adult championships.
What are the priorities of the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia (FHR)? The head of the organization Vladislav Tretyak heroically insisted on a full breaks in the KHL calendar for the participation of the Russian team in the Euro Tour. It's just nonsense and here's why. First, KHL is one of the few in the Russian sport successful products on the European level, which has already been spoiled by the limitation on foreign players (more on this below). And secondly, in the Russian hockey there is MHL (Juniour Hockey League) and VHL (Supreme Hockey League). Prospective players of these leagues (according to the logic) need to play at the international level in the same Euro Tour, giving them a chance to express themselves and to be promoted in club career. And for this it is not necessarily to 'spoil' the calendar of the KHL. But FHR needs desired result. If we win nowhere, we need at least to win at Euro Tour.
With 'older' world cups it is also not going smoothly. Leading hockey powers of the world (whom we belong to) have long assessed the planetary championships held after the next Winter Olympic Games as the 'mastering' of the youth. Therefore, it is not surprising that immediately after the failures at the Games 2014 and 2010 we took 'gold' of the World Cup, getting all the stars from the NHL. Thus, FHR is not very high qualitatively retouches 'sore spots' in our hockey. Such as a meaningless limitation on foreign players, for example. About the children's sport we have already mentioned above. There is no need to remind you that the last time we were not ashamed for the Russian team at the Olympics in 1998, at the silver for our hockey Games in Nagano.
Imitation of intense activity instead of solving problems
In this Vitaly Mutko, as they say, is a past master. It was he who 'invented' for Russia the concept of a limitation on foreign players in sports and everywhere where is necessary or not, implemented it, undermining the healthy sporting competition among Russian athletes.
The most outrageous story, again, is in hockey. In this sport, our country has roughly the same status as Brazil in football. Whatever times the country was experiencing, whatever state was of the Russian club leagues and Junior hockey, the Russian land continues to produce world stars. The Soviet stars were replaced by the generation of Kamensky and Bure, then Ovechkin and Malkin, in turn to the status is Tarasenko, Panarin and Yakupov. Yes, the number of these stars is being reduced due to the collapse of children's hockey in the country, but the quality remains at the same high level.
Instead of solving the problems at the basement of the hockey pyramid (children's hockey), Vitaly Mutko is lobbying for a limitation on foreign players in hockey — Russian hockey. It's like the Brazilians in football would have to introduce something like this in their League. The same absurdity.
Limitation? Not one step back
Paradoxically, this problem is being discussed not so zealously as the limitation on foreign players in football. Here the conclusions are not so obvious, but ruthless. The latest generation of Russian players, grown without artificial restrictions, are by head and shoulders above the players of the current team, which miserably disgraced in France, and then in Monte Carlo (hello to Kokorin and Mamaev). The veterans of the Russian team (Akinfeev, Berezutski, Ignashevich) who 'footbally' flourished in conditions of severe competition with foreign players deserve the least accusations. But their career will be over soon. Maybe only Akinfeev will remain as the main goalkeeper of the national team at the home World Cup in 2018.
The climax of the collapse of this flawed system was the words of the head coach Slutsky and captain Berezutski, who, defying all sorts of corporate ethics, lashed out at the limitation. Indeed, 'the child' of Mutko only weakened the Russian football but lifted to the skies the salaries of the players with the 'right passport', in fact, putting them in 'the golden cages', precluding any progress. Then, the limitation on foreign players will be in trouble, we thought. But no, in response there were only calls to calm down from the mouth of Vitaly Mutko.
There are a great number of the examples and reasons that it's time for Vitaly Mutko to resign as minister and the president of RFU. It is impossible to cover in one article. And why if nothing will be changed? You should remember that anu accusation to Vitaly Mutko is 'unrealistic and impossible'.