There was a mass shooting in Russia in April.
The Russian junior series is bubbling. Illustration image. Tomi Natri / All Over Press
There is a lot of doping in Russia.
The players of the Salavat Jujalejev Ufa junior team Ufa Tolpar, one of the biggest clubs in the KHL, were accused of doping in April.
Now the players have said that the team’s physical trainer Igor Zagretdinov forced them to take prohibited substances, says Champions.
The seven players accused of doping have told the electronic news channel Baza that Zagretdinov gave them various injections containing an unknown substance and suspicious nutritional supplements. The players are between 18 and 20 years old.
The athletes said they tried to refuse the substances, but the coach threatened to go to the team management. Zagretdinov also threatened that the players’ careers would be difficult if they did not agree to the measure.
The club management did not intervene because they believed that the physical trainer knew them better. Before the suspension of seven players in Tolpar’s team in April, there were two doping cases. In May, ten new players were tested.
Ufa Tolpar plays in the junior league in the MHL.