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Doping scandal in Russian sports

Russian Volleyball Federation comments on suspension of national team’s star Butko

"The athlete was facing up to a four-year period of disqualification, but he made a deal with the International Federation of Volleyball," the statement reads

MOSCOW, November 21. /TASS/. Russia’s Olympic Champion Alexander Butko, who had been slapped with a two-year suspension over doping allegations, previously faced a four-year ban, the press office of the Russian Volleyball Federation (RVF) reported on Monday.

"He was facing up to a four-year period of disqualification, but he made a deal with the International Federation of Volleyball [FIVB]," the statement reads. "According to this deal, Butko confessed to violating the laws, but he was not to blame for it."

"This is why he was handed a moderate penalty," the RVF added in its statement.

Butko’s 2014 doping sample yielded a positive result for a banned substance in September of this year. An unidentified source told TASS earlier that the banned substance could have entered Butko’s system via prescribed medicines.

Butko is 36 years old and he is a 2012 Olympic champion, playing as part of the gold-medal winning Russian national team as well as being the winner of the 2011 FIVB World Cup tournament in Japan, and the 2017 FIVB European Championship in Poland.

Russia’s other volleyball star Pavel Moroz, 35, could be subject to a one-year ban as well for violating anti-doping rules, his sports agent Dmitry Rezvanov told TASS on Monday, commenting on Butko’s case.

"A different lawyer is handling Moroz’s case," Rezvanov said. "However, their cases are identical and that is why Moroz is likely to be suspended for one year based on the similar charges. There is also an amicable agreement in force regarding this situation."

In late October, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) announced that the Russian national women’s and men’s volleyball teams were not included on the list of participants at the qualifying tournament for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in France.

On February 28, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC recommendations in late February, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

In mid-October, IOC President Thomas Bach announced that the Olympic body recommended keeping athletes from Russia and Belarus suspended from international sports tournaments.

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Doping scandal in Russian sports

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