Vitaly Mutko steps down as chairman of 2018 World Cup organising committee

This follows his announcement, made two days ago, that he would be temporarily giving up his position as head of the country’s Football Union

Vitaly Mutko has been banned for life from the Olympic Games (AP)

Russia Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko, banned for life from the Olympics this month, is to step down from his role as the chairman of the 2018 World Cup organising committee.

Mutko told Russian news agencies on Wednesday that he would be replaced by Alexei Sorokin, another high-profile Russian involved in organising next summer’s World Cup.

This follows his announcement, made two days ago, that he would be temporarily giving up his position as head of the country’s Football Union.

The former sports minister, who recently gave an exclusive interview to The Independent, is to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban him from the Games over allegations of state-sponsored doping, and wishes to focus on those proceedings.

Investigations by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the IOC alleged that Mutko, as then sports minister, was involved in a state-sponsored doping program during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He has strongly denied all doping allegations.

The IOC didn't accuse Mutko of being personally involved in doping, but banned him from the Olympics for life, saying he and his ministry bore overall responsibility for "failure to respect" anti-doping rules.