Scandals roll over into 2017

Doping, financial and sex-abuse scandals shamed sport last year. Here are five ongoing scandals to follow in 2017:

•Doping debacle

Barely a week goes by without new cases of doping in Russian sport, even as the country battles to get back into international athletics in time for the 2017 world championships in London. The International Association of Athletics Federations has already extended its suspension of Russian competitors until at least February. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chief Craig Reedie told AFP in November that Russia is "quite a long way off" being compliant with international doping statutes. Russia has passed a new lawmaking doping a criminal offense, but it strongly denied accusations in the McLaren report of state-run doping. International experts say the country is in denial, that it is not getting enough cooperation and that cities closed to foreigners are doping black holes. After over 110 Russians were banned from the Rio Olympics in August, the International Olympic Committee opened two investigations into Russian sport, including one on doping at the Sochi and London Olympics. Russian weightlifting has also been badly hit and Russia lost the world bobsled championships because of the scandal.

•FIFA fraud

Soccer's world governing body has had amass clearout since Swiss investigators detained seven FIFA officials at a Zurich hotel in May 2015. US prosecutors have not given up their campaign, however, and eight key figures in the case will face trials in New York in the fall unless negotiations over guilty pleas succeed. Former FIFA vice-president Jeffrey Webb, who has pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering could be sentenced in May. Two other former FIFA vice-presidents, Jack Warner and Nicolas Leoz, could be extradited to the US in 2017. Forty-one individuals and companies have been charged by US authorities over more than $200 million in bribes. Separately, US and Swiss prosecutors are looking into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively as well as the activities of former FIFA boss Sepp Blatter.

•Motor pity

In April 2016, Femke Van den Driessche, a former European youth cyclocross champion from Belgium, became the first person to be suspended for using a hidden electric motor. She may not be the last. Thomas Voeckler, a former holder of the Tour de France leader's yellow jersey, said he was "convinced" motors were used by professionals but added that it should be easier to detect than doping. Infrared cameras were used on this year's Tour. American former champion Greg LeMond said all doubts must be ended and suspicions have been cast in the direction of several teams.

•Soccer's shame

British police are investigating hundreds of cases of sexual abuse of young players by coaches, with some top clubs implicated. Police in London said they have more than 100 allegations of abuse at 30 clubs, including four in the Premier League. Scottish police added 109 cases. Former Crewe Alexandra player Andy Woodward opened the floodgates by telling about abuse he suffered at the club's academy 25 years ago. Since then it has been revealed Chelsea paid a player to stay silent about abuse and that an accused youth coach at Crewe also worked at Manchester City. Southampton has also been drawn into the scandal, which English Football Association chairman Greg Clarke called the game's biggest crisis.

•Weight and see

Weightlifting, one of the most popular Olympic spectacles, accounted for 48 of the 104 positive tests detected in new analysis of samples from the 2008 Beijing Games and London 2012. The shaming of Kazakhstan's Ilya Ilyin, who won a gold medal at each Games, highlighted the crisis facing the sport which WADA diplomatically considered "high risk". Even the International Weightlifting Federation said that Russia's and Bulgaria's multiple doping failures were "shocking" before suspending them from the Rio Olympics in August. International Weightlifting Federation president Tamas Ajan said in Rio that Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus would be banned for a year because of their high number of doping failures, but no official announcement has yet been made.

(China Daily 01/02/2017 page12)