Transcripts For DW Quadriga - Is Russia Playing Fair With Sport 20171207

Systematic state sponsored doping the decision was announced on tuesday by the head of the International Olympic Committee Told us buck and today in light of that announcement many are once again asking where the next summers soccer world cup which is of course set to be hosted by russia is in the right down after all one person above all looks to benefit from the tournament that is flooded me up putting so the question here on quadrant of this week is putins games is russia playing fair with sports and to discuss that question im joined here in the studio by eric home who writes for the Los Angeles Times and who has a long track record in covering sports and especially soccer and he says banning the russian team from the Winter Olympics is a bold but brilliant move also with us is very near as he paul from deutsche about his Russian Development he believes it doesnt matter what you think of the russian government the twenty eighteen world cup is gone. To be a huge celebration of soca for everybody bloody mean its not a god that has to be good he ses and a warm welcome to to downing a cigar chilcot freelance journalist working for russian and english language publications dani argues that the doping scandal is painful to witness but not really surprising to anyone familiar with the mindset of russian officials. Welcome once again to all three of you id like to begin with you eric it was described as one of the weightiest decisions ever faced by the Olympic Movement it has now been decided russia has been banned from competing in the twenty eighteen Winter Olympics in south korea you say it is a bold but brilliant move why bold why brilliant i think the i. O. C. Needed to take a firm step this time theyve been pussyfooting around for a long time with doping and the evidence was overwhelming in this case criminal energy that when the sochi to using spies to exchange the urine samples is amazing when you read this you just cant believe this really happened and they had to do it to save any credibility the Winter Olympics have been sliding downhill for a long time in the ratings people care less and less about it i used to love sports i used to go to the i covered the olympics in athens and in beijing now i dont even watch it i think its all just ruined by doping so this is a really heartening development for me to see the i. O. C. Taking a firm step i think thomas bach did the right thing by cracking down hard but leaving a bridge open for the russians to take part if they can prove that theyre clean being you might say you might say you might say bold and brilliant is it the zero tolerance that the International Olympic committee had promised because there will be russian athletes after all competing at the at the games the hopefully the russian hockey players figure skaters sports where doping is not really an issue hopefully the world will see some of these great russian hockey players on the ice and looking forward to seeing russian hockey players again. Before i come to the two russians who have who we have in the finals and id just like to stick with you for just a secondary because i mean. Let me give you a flavor of whats being said from the russian side a Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman came out and said theyre always trying to put down put us down and everything our way of life our culture our history and our sport what do you say to such sentiments its ridiculous i mean its the soul and circle he meant mentality we see it with nato theyre afraid that nato is in circle in this well i think most people in the west realize this is ridiculous and hopefully nobody will take it too serious thats russias problem of they feel that the west is in a circle and thats russias problem they think that the i. O. C. Is going after them for doping when theyve been caught red handed i think most people outside russia see it differently not him has been looking very thoughtful darias be looking very full diary you say youre personal reaction to this you talk about doping scandal of the whole saga being painful tell us about the pain well to be honest i guess just like most people in russia i did not expect the russian team to win the sochi olympics so when russia won it was a great surprise i was actually really happy to witness it and cheer just like everybody else. It was a great surprise but then afterwards when this whole doping scandal started i realized that it was fake the feeling could be compared to someone giving you a Christmas Present making a very happy with it and then you realize that the gifts are is actually betrayal shoplifter and he probably stole a present from someone else yeah i was not surprised meaning no such i didnt expect was it fits perfectly that are russian Political Goals i think the russian on some political level wanted to be first on the sochi olympics at any cost and it was no question of course the time for us to go and three and a half years ago so russia got this prize in the sochi olympics with huge cost of opening and this is the problem of russia we have a huge difference on the International Level in the have a reality of it not always fit to be some decisions because this can be used dumping which is the same things to do so. Ya know for all thrown at him because its such as in korea its complete disaster for russia its a question there im pretty sure that was the goal but i remember reading all the forecasts right before the olympics nobody expected russia to be even today given the sort of place for it is now yeah so it was a nice surprise for russian people in that i suppressed for us norman but there is a saturday im not surprised a bit but fulfilling these goals by any means before we continue the conversation and lets just take a closer look at. What the allegations of state backed doping amounts to. The twenty fourteen Winter Olympics in sochi russia the host nation won thirty three medals more than any other country russia and president Vladimir Putin came off looking like champions but did they play fair or were the real champions that doping laps. Two years after the games had investigator for the World Antidoping Agency Richard Mclaren published some serious allegations that the Moscow Laboratory operated for the protection of doped russian athletes within a state directed feel safe system the Russian Ministry of sport directed controlled and oversaw the manipulation of athletes analytical results no less than the head of russias own antidoping lab grigori wrote chunk of was chief witness he left for the United States as did you yesterday about a runner who had reported systematic doping in Russian Sports started the ball rolling. Are the accusations of state sponsored doping just mudslinging against russia. But i mean what do you say to that question all these allegations just mudslinging on the part of the west a conspiracy on the part of the west against putins efforts to make russia once again a strong nation it fits the. Kind of paranoia have to have in the country since couple of us. Im not sharing this so its not my opinion but its opinion who is sharing a lot of people in russia the vest on war us it wont jump on you in but you go on trying to destroy russia on some level. And its a bad thing because theres no way out so just escalating with every sanction against russia just as collating this conflict there between russia and the vest and mark is all im not sharing this opinion is this the mindset that you with the russian mindset that you were referring to the beginning of the show and your quote of the beginning that well i meant actually Something Else something or also mentioned. That it is pretty common for russian officials to chip to cheat on things i mean russia is a remarkably corrupt country if those people without blinking an eye steal so much money from the state budget by kind of they fake doping samples thats a good point. If they do not value any kind of fair play they just want a victory at any price because you know so you have no such rules like in the north so russians are quite a Young Country in terms of state structures because they have complete collapse under state ninety one so i dont think is new in the these rules fixation in russia is not that strong that in germany are in the best and in general so their all is a question of how to interpret your interpretation there are all saw you can steal you can cheat you can not get punished but this is a mine sent in the country its not the government in my mind set of this it in all at all a new level and in the country in russia in the population its like acceptable very kewl thought i mean hopefully thats why i think this is a good move by the i. O. C. Is hopefully theyll learn the lesson this time i think i would talk about east germany and germany they had their whole doping history as well i think germany learned from that i dont think germany anybody thinks that theres any serious doping going on in germany. So hopefully these sanctions will have a educational effect on not only russia but other countries that are thinking about doping and thats why i think its a smart move by the i. O. C. Tough sanctions but leaving the door open for individual russian athletes to take part in voting what did you what did you make of the announcement yesterday president putins announcement that he is going to be standing again for the presidency what did you make of the timing of that announcement im not surprised that theyre evolving and if i mean theres just accident that it was yesterday it could be tomorrow it could be the day before i mean it doesnt play in your role naturally you see it differently i mean yeah i wouldnt even say its a new thing everybody knew he was running coming on ok lets listen to the talking of president putin and what he has been saying he also came out yesterday didnt just talk about the candidacy he talked he gave his Immediate Reaction to the doping ban lets listen to what Vladimir Putin had to say. Given of this looks like an absolutely manipulated and politically motivated decision. We see this i have no doubts about it because you could use them you. Got in there is this i mean the language that you get from the russian president the sense is that the east and west are still locked in a sporting cold war is not the case i mean to see itself and i mean im russian citizen but im not see myself as a part of this paranoia but russian government and to be part of Russian Society see themselves in a kind of cold war with the best and obviously saw what happening with the Olympic Games and fits perfectly to this picture of the north of you are trying to be destroyed on some level by the best in country and so im not surprised but its statement at all the record cold war sporting cold war between the east in the west you smile i think its ridiculous but i mean i think this fits into putins strategy and it makes put more popular at home probably but makes him less popular around the world i think he just hurts his credibility outside russia more and more with this stat strategy i think putin doesnt really care about hes for their team work and its out of question for him one question that comes to mind is does putin care for the athletes i mean the athletes in some ways if you just perpetrate is part of the russian doping system but at the same time theyre also victims of the system you mentioned you know east german systematic doping in east germany. You know that had a huge impact on the health the Long Term Health of many of the people who were you know involved in those doping practices how concerned is putin about that how concerned are russian people about that russian people as very concerned about others because without Winter Olympics its a disaster for russia because were all im not saying were upset but the Winter Olympics but its playing extremely huge role in the russian Public Opinion so if the child youre bringing up in russia watching every four years theyre going to him because youre you get used to not seeing russian fake not hearing russian anthem and their name because its a disaster. How are the russians likely to respond in sporting terms darted to this. I have been observing the reactions in the media for the last couple of days since the news breaks and since yesterday. I could say that the reactions of very different quite a lot of people are saying that the russian team should go anyway. I am personally on that side as well because for the athletes it is something they have been preparing for for their whole lives it is really could be a pinnacle of their career for many of them and they definitely deserve to go if they can prove that they are clean. And i do not thing why they should miss out on any of it but quite a lot of people are saying that the athletes going anyway despite the ban on the russian team would be tantamount to National Treachery that is something that as a as a russian journalist here a lot of those madson fortunately people somehow tend to associate the country the state and the name of ludmer putin together and if you do something which is not in the general line youre supposed to be a traitor so its deciding to go and compete on the olympics just because of their ambition despite their country being so not representing their country but more representing themselves to some people will by some people will definitely be seen as torture and we have already seen reactions like that quite a lot actually but thankfully putin himself has said that he will not be obstructing athletes to go from so im quite hopeful that a lot of russian athletes would say it was a really encouraging signal this week that putin did call for a boycott there was a fear that he would any minute i mean we had the eighty in the eighty four olympics that were tainted by the political boycotts over afghanistan and so its encouraging i mean this is why im optimistic that it could be a good olympics after all and that russia will be back with its team in four years you just have to do the best from the situation and outlets to go into. Some to try to solve the word reconvened with all droppings. Just give me a word on whether you believe because we keep talking a lot of new putins controlling role role in all this does does he know we sure that he knows and has known about the about the extent of the systematic doping practiced by the Russian Federation i dont think and you think i dont know anything for sure but im kind can just because the new engine tired of his docking system im not sure the huge new everything in the last detail he aligned himself very closely to the sochi olympics fifty billion dollars were spent to build a winter olympic venue in a summer resort the i. O. C. Loved him for it nobody really wants to bid for the Winter Olympics anymore putin did and so putin baka very close thats why its all the more remarkable that bach had the courage to take these sanctions so its hard to imagine putin had no clue this was going on but im not sure he was controlling the state pumping system in the last no no i dont know either and nobody knows everything about whats going on. We cant on this because no one knows for sure you know. I wish i did i wish i did yeah ok we need to move on just a little bit we need to talk about how the the doping saga the doping scandal is going to impact on russias hosting of the soccer world cup next summer especially given the amount of hope that russian president Vladimir Putin is investing in the world cup and the russian people indeed thats what your report first of all before we talk about that. The strongman in the kremlin knows p. R. Putin is well known for his love of images like these the athletic outdoors the sportsman and he has no qualms about showing it potent is not known as a football fan but he brought the twenty eighteen world cup to russia and russians are overjoyed. He will definitely play in the finals im just waiting for the finals and were going to win ive been waiting for this World Championship for forty years now. The countdown to the twenty eighteen world cup in russia is on its the same year as russias next president ial elections it may well provide a handsome return our sports in russia upon and putins power games. Thats a question we will we have been addressing we will continue to address but i want to go first of love the man who is a very very big soccer fans and who is looking forward very much to the soccer world cup tell us more about him that im really Walking Around looking for at the foot of de mints and there is a book in my home every time i reference and put his book in the middle of the night im passing on the new highway by a new soccer star and once in there is a book and its complete serial but whats it got in the city i am waiting for my tickets for one game and simpers book. Argentina participates oh i got this ticket and i won to say that. Its not on the push and rush is on huge amount of people who though and its for russian people on the average level for the normal russians its a huge huge celebration its a huge event and the whole situation and president as well as other sieges and there are all across russia are looking forward to hostile work to come no matter how bad the dropping cause no matter how bad the corruption was. No matter how many money was stolen during these buildings its a huge step abrasion and i was talking to a leading german sports journalist after the announcement of the ban on the russians about space in the Winter Olympics came through and he said you know big report on sock a big fan of soccer very passionate about soccer he said in my working life and in my own life i have a sort of rhythm i go from the European Championship to the world cup to the European Championships the world cup and thats how my lies found out very much and he said yeah great he said this time around i cant generate any enthusiasm for the world cup in russia because of put because its such an free country what do you say to that kind of every every country was who was hosting the world cup in the last year brazilian south africa had this set of domestic problems in brazil it was a huge protest against a sort conference south africa was. Fighting with some domestic problems was about so russia is not a perfect country germany expecting us to be perfect i mean germany expecting everyone to have an effect germany. But we are not perfect we are by far not perfect country theyre stealing money cheating their savior doping. Are not perfect so we are not fitting in this perfect expectation of the german Public Opinion in pub or german media to deliver a perfect Perfect World cup number of you to be for me as a russian citizen that it would be a huge huge. What he said as well as harry can you enthusiastic about the upcoming soccer world cup oh yeah absolutely it was covered the world cup in germany in the world cup in brazil four years ago and i think its a great chance to see and learn more about the country i think the world got to see what real germany is like in two thousand and six with the world cup here there was a lot of outdated views of germany in the world got to see what a friendly smiling country this is helpful people good weather and it was a great tournament and hopefully. Will be a great term in russia as well and the world will get to learn more about russia away from putin away from politics excuse me its exactly the point theyre both happened in germany three if youre known for two years ago it was not about miracle and what Company Russia two thousand and eighteen is not on the ballot fortune but sometimes i have an expression and i you know you say the germans are hypocrites im saying that the german Public Opinion is the kind of obsessed they put him in even if you talk soccer if you even the fifth book talks forests and soccer theyre all the baby coming back the fortune he speaks german he was a k. G. B. Agent here theres the obvious facts and yeah and drop it. Down to what he said im thinking its much more on the one person russia is so much more than on the pushing. Yeah i would really like to support that i mean as a russian journalist and reporting about russia for the english language so you agree with a lot of me yet russia is not just putin definitely yeah yeah im going to say i mean you really want you know somebody who has reported on Human Rights Concerns there are massive Human Rights Concerns about russia there have been is this just a sort of a fiction of the west or is this is this the west different is it a poll kristie once again on the part of the west to focus on gay rights on racism on human rights in general i definitely do not think this is it is hypocritical of the western media to focus on it of us in public to look at it because it is happening on this huge scale. I mean remember only this year there was this huge scandal with the gay people being murdered in chechnya so dozens of gay people gay men in chechnya which is the region in the south of russia in the caucasus tortured some of them managed to escape some were killed some of them were killed by their own families who were forced to kill them to clean their own or. I have only today actually checked a report by a social scientist in russia who counted that since two thousand and ten that there has been over two hundred murders of gay people around russian you know it can move around and it is not perfect and they have a huge huge set of the mr problems gay rights human rights criminality you name it but every country in the world too is applying to. Be hosting their work got brazilian south africa or whatever its always something you can talk about criminality in brazil you talk you can talk about hiv in south africa there is always something to talk fact remains though that vitale would call there yeah war has now been banned by the International Olympic committee of his role in the system. Doping. That has led to the ban he never lets the last remains correct me if its not true the man effectively in charge of the world cup and the upcoming world cup and hes deputy russian Prime Minister this is not just this is serious its huge now and its as if its a disaster its a disaster for russian public its a disaster for russian government and its disaster for everyone because of the side child level if the International Organization like iowa is saying the tally might call your band its a disaster no no doubt. Certainly a massive stain on the russian world cup i mean who knows maybe he wont be there by the time that the tournament starts but it is it is absolutely big problem and well see what happens if hes still there do you expect political process like you know the way that we saw through surf and russert russia last time brazil last time around booed by brazilian soccer fans do you expect that kind of thing to happen in flooded with putins russia during the world cup it is a very interesting question because as it as we all know the same year is the president ial election so there has already been at least two big protests several actually and russia this year and there will probably be next year as well but the russian state i am not really an expert in brazil so i do not know how vigorously. How vigorous is our place compared to brazil but it was brutal in moscow i remember in june there were i think around a thousand people arrested during a one day is a record there has never been Something Like that so this intimidation tactic may have worked out and there might be no protests at all i can hardly imagine russian public fighting report on the stadium that i was going to tell you might call a just to go into. The yeah i think if you cant get anybody you know my state. With greater speed. It wasnt nor was the border ok were drawing to a close id like to ask the two russians and the again. About their views on me putin says he welcomes the world coming to russia theyre going to see russia for themselves what are they going to take away from them with them in a sentence. I hope they take away something good and. That they see a friendlier more open part of russia and the. Young people in it and you know one sentence russia you so much more than just. Ok believe that russia was so much more than just fortune thank you very much for joining us on for doing it this time we look forward to seeing you again next time around five by interest. And the same. Presenting a dash oh in hamburg the hometown of design a colloguing found. Knuckle touching homecoming here in this blended album philharmonic its chilly northern german city and really melts johans your romance thirty minutes on. This is you get me its come to life on but end of the right to our correspondent he is in central istanbul im joined by the helicopter did of his Political Correspondent on those stories in just a minute but first this news just in its all about the perspective closer d. W. News for us and. Its all about the moments that lie before. Its all about the stories inside. Its all about George Chance to discover the world from different perspectives. Join us and be inspired by distinctive instagram or others at g. W. Story a new topic each week on instagram. 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