Russian sports chief Vitaly Mutko says UK manipulates Olympics to win medals.
Russia's Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has accused Britain of manipulating the 2012 London Olympic Games in a bid to win medals.
On Saturday August 11, Mutko made serious accusations against the UK as the Games’ host, saying it is using political clout with the aim of improving its medal tally.
"The Brits are just as [bad] as [the Chinese] in Beijing. Here in London everyone wants the British to win. They have a very strong political support," he said.
Referring to the three Russian boxers including light-flyweight David Ayrapetyan, flyweight Misha Aloian and welterweight Andrei Zamkovoy, who lost their semi-final bouts, Mutko stressed that the three athletes “had been prevented from reaching the final.”
Furthermore, a few days ago, Isabelle Gautheron, director of the French Olympic cycling team, alleged that Britain had cheated its way to gold medal in the cycling velodrome with the aid of ''magic wheels'', as British cyclists “hide their wheels a lot.”
Spain field hockey coach Dani Martin also complained that some ''countries are being favored'' by referees following his team’s loss to Britain in the quarterfinal.
Moreover, after Indian welterweight boxer Manoj Kumar was defeated by British Tom Stalker, he said, ''It's not an Olympic tournament. Cheating, cheating, cheating.''
SSM/JR/HE
