July 4 – Pressure is growing on FIFA Executive Committee member Vitaly Mutko (pictured) to resign as Russia’s Sports Minister after it emerged that he claimed expenses for the equivalent of five breakfasts a day while he was attending the Olympics in Vancouver earlier this year, where the team had its worst ever performance.
Mutko was already facing questions following details of an investigation carried out by the Audit Chamber and ordered by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had revealed that his hotel suite during the Games in Canada cost $1,500 (£986) a night – more than ten times what he was legally allowed to claim under Government rules.
The total bill for Mutko’s 20-day trip to Vancouver and his two deputies was $34,000 (£22,000).
Now it has been revealed that Mutko claimed for an additional $4,500 (£2,959) during his stay for 97 breakfasts – which translates to nearly five a day.
The drip-feed of information about Mutko’s trip to Vancouver, where Russia finished a relatively lowly 11th in the overall medals table with just 15 medals – only three of which were gold – is beginning to seriously undermine his position, officials fear.
It is widely accepted that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin would have forced Mutko to resign after Vancouver if it were not for the fact that he is a lynch-pin of the country’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Mutko is a key and influential member of the FIFA Executive Committee and the fear is that if he is damaged at home politically it will affect Russia’s bid, which has emerged as the favourites ahead of England.
The report was also critical of Mutko because his wife Tatyana, used the official delegation’s charter flight to Vancouver, but she paid the 52,000 rubles (£1,098/$1,670) for the ticket only in May after the Audit Chamber launched its probe.
The Audit Chamber report also accused sports officials of embezzling money allocated for athletes and sports equipment, adding extra people to the Olympic delegation at the state’s expense, hiring incompetent coaches and selling overpriced tickets to fans.
Medvedev had warned when launching the Audit that if it uncovered any evidence of criminal activity then officials would be prosecuted.
But the report did not say how much money went missing, and said no officials had been identified who could be charged with wrongdoing.
“There is no single body in Russia responsible for the training and participation of Russian teams in the Olympic Games … that can be held responsible,” the report said.
The Audit Chamber will forward the results of its inquiry to the Investigative Committee and the Interior Ministry, it has said.
Mutko denied accusations of misspending, calling them “speculation” and “total rubbish”.
He said he did not choose his hotel room but did not explain who had selected it.
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July 2010: Russian Audit Report puts pressure on Mutko’s role as Sports Minister