As the world fixates on Russian spying and cyber-attacks in U.S. politics, the field of sports has been struck by similar intrusions and Canadian athletes and organizations are among the hardest hit. The Montreal-based World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was warned last summer that Russian hackers were trying to breach its computer system, according to security … Continue reading The Cold War Spy Games Inside Sports
Tag Archives: Russia
Canada’s Pride
Its nice to be able to write a story where the Canadian sports officials are not burying their heads in the sand or passing the hot potato of accountability as quickly as possible. This is an exclusive interview with Richard McLaren, the Canadian sports lawyer who investigated the state-sponsored Russian doping system. It is the … Continue reading Canada’s Pride
The ‘Secret’ Report for WADA
Below is the confidential paper on building an investigative culture in a corrupt sports world that I wrote for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Think Tank held in Lausanne on September 20th. It was supposed to be secret but some craven twit leaked it to his pals in the media within 24-hours of it being … Continue reading The ‘Secret’ Report for WADA
If You Love Sports, Switch Off the Rio Olympics
Ten Points on the Russian Sports Doping Scandal 1. The only way to get clean, dope-free sport is for fans around the world to switch off the Rio de Janeiro Olympics: I do not write this lightly. Nor do I write about the rampant corrupton of the Brazilian construction industry, the potential spread of the … Continue reading If You Love Sports, Switch Off the Rio Olympics
Russian Doping & Fixing: A Normal Way of Business
In the light of Richard McLaren’s report on doping in Russia. Here is a backgrounder from The Fix on corruption in Russian sports. Kaliningrad is a grim, grey city stuck at the far western end of Russia. It is full of crumbling dockyards, high unemployment, and mobsters. The city is an odd outpost of the … Continue reading Russian Doping & Fixing: A Normal Way of Business
Sports and the Russian Mafia
On the news that the Russian track and field athletes are banned from the Rio Olympics. Good decision. Two points, five lessons and the links between sports and the Russian Mafia. The Russian anti-doping system in sport was largely a sham: a Potemkin village of a program designed to give the appearance of an effective … Continue reading Sports and the Russian Mafia
How to Fix the European Championship
This is an article that I hate to write. I hope that fixing does not happen at the upcoming European Championship. I hope that no teams, players or officials are involved in corruption. However, for all the football fans that are concerned for the integrity of the beautiful game here is the blueprint of … Continue reading How to Fix the European Championship
Insider’s Paradise: Corruption Looms Large Ahead of FIFA Presidential Election
The FIFA presidential election will take place on Friday in Zurich, giving the game’s power brokers a golden chance to affect change. But there’s a catch. The 207 eligible presidents of the national football federations wield the power to vote, yet these officials are, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, steeped in a world where … Continue reading Insider’s Paradise: Corruption Looms Large Ahead of FIFA Presidential Election
7 lessons from the IAAF and Russian Doping Scandals
So now we know. Now we know that the Russian anti-doping system in sport was largely a sham: a Potemkin village of a program designed to give the appearance of an effective fight but in reality enabling widespread doping among their athletes. Now we know that at the very heart of athleticism and the IAAF … Continue reading 7 lessons from the IAAF and Russian Doping Scandals
The ‘Sports’ Farce in Washington
To my American colleagues who went to the seminar on ‘sports integrity’ at the National Press Club on June 24th, You saw a presentation by a man with little credibility in sports integrity and two other men who have failed. You attended a presentation sponsored by the Qatari sports establishment. This is a group that … Continue reading The ‘Sports’ Farce in Washington
