Russia Manager Stanislav Cherchesov declined to comment on the number of drugs tests that have been administered to his team.GETTY IMAGES
Russia has "enjoyed the best start of any host nation in World Cup history" and played some "exceptional football," but the team is "finding it difficult to escape the long shadow of the country's recent doping scandal," according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. Russia Manager Stanislav Cherchesov and his staff "have been exasperated when asked for details of the drugs tests taken by his players and to explain how they have run farther than any other team, and at the fastest speeds." Three Russians, Aleksandr Golovin, Aleksandr Samedov and Yury Gazinsky, "top the statistics for the players who have covered the most ground." There is also the "murky decision" to drop defender Ruslan Kambolov from the squad in May because of a calf injury, a few weeks after it was revealed he was being investigated by FIFA for a positive finding for steroids. Cherchesov refused to enter discussions about the number of drugs tests, but there have reportedly been "no positive findings for the Russians or any other team in the World Cup" (LONDON TIMES, 6/25). REUTERS' Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber reported FIFA on Sunday rejected a British media report alleging doping cover-ups among Russian players, saying that it "had not found any evidence of doping among Russia's players." Reiterating a statement it made last month, FIFA said that "insufficient evidence was found to assert an anti-doping rule violation by any footballer" (REUTERS, 6/24).
