Al Jazeera News :The head of Russia’s anti-doping laboratory has resigned after being accused of involvement in a state-sponsored doping programme.”The acting director of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov, announced his resignation,” said Natalya Zhelanova, an aide to Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko.We have young athletes for whom it will be their first Olympics. And there are those for whom it will be the fifth games. Innocent athletes should not suffer. “The minister accepted his resignation and one of the specialists at the laboratory was appointed in his place,” Zhelanova was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency on Wednesday.Zhelanova added, “the laboratory’s accreditation has been temporarily halted” a day after it was shut in the wake of the doping scandal.The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has accused Rodchenkov of being at the heart of a scheme to cover up alleged widespread use of illegal drugs among Russian athletes, including deliberately destroying positive test samples.His resignation comes after WADA suspended Moscow’s heavily criticised anti-doping laboratory on Tuesday after releasing its explosive, 335-page report on the scandal.International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Sebastian Coe has given the Russian athletics federation (ARAF) “until the end of the week” to respond or risk possible suspension, with the IAAF Council set to meet in Monaco on Friday.
