Who is to blame for the doping scandal with Valieva? Tarasova accused the coaches, and Tutberidze demanded an apology for slander

Coach Eteri Tutberidze turned to Tatyana Tarasova because of the doping case of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva.

Tutberidze called on Tarasova to apologize for her words about the involvement of coaches in the Valieva case. “This is already deliberate slander and false accusations. Apparently, the boundaries of what is permitted have been completely lost,” the specialist noted.

Tarasova responded to Tutberidze’s appeal. “If they provide me with evidence of how this actually happened, then I will gladly apologize,” she told TASS.

Tarasova stated that the coaches were to blame for Valieva’s doping

According to the honored coach of the USSR, responsibility for what happened lies with the figure skater’s coaches. She stressed that the blame should not be placed on the team doctors.

WADA declares Tutberidze innocent

The Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Olivier Niggli, said that there is no evidence of Tutberidze’s involvement in the situation. He suggested that medical workers could be involved in the case.

Banka called it unpleasant that the people truly responsible for the doping case escape punishment, and the only one who is subject to sanctions is the athlete.

The FFKKR also stated that Tutberidze was not involved in doping Valieva

General Director of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) Alexander Kogan told RIA Novosti that Tutberidze had nothing to do with the entry of a prohibited drug into the figure skater’s body.

Valieva spoke about the unintentional entry of doping into the body

The skater herself emphasized that she did not take doping consciously. She added that she took courses from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) and tried to follow the rules as much as possible.

Later it became known that the Russian Ministry of Sports excluded the 17-year-old figure skater from the national team. At the same time, the International Skating Union will continue to test Valieva for doping.

This decision was made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on January 29. The period of suspension is counted from the moment the sample was taken in which prohibited trimetazidine was detected – December 25, 2021.

Valieva’s results for this period were cancelled. She was stripped of her gold medals at the 2022 Olympic Games in the team tournament and the European Championships. The Russian team also lost first place in the team tournament – after reviewing the results, the athletes became bronze medalists. Gold went to the USA team, silver to Japan.