Television commentator Dmitry Guberniev accused the former head of the RBU, Alexander Tikhonov, that from an interview with the International Biathlon Union, the trainer Alexander Kasperovich used fake accreditation at the World Championships in Anterselva. This was told by television commentator Dmitry Guberniev. In his opinion, it was the words of the ex-head of the SBR that led to the search of the mentor and his ward, Alexander Loginov, and they both became suspected of violating anti-doping rules. The four-time Olympic champion in response stated that this information was known even before he spoke with reporters.
In the case of Russian biathlete Alexander Loginov and his coach Alexander Kasperovich, who were searched during the World Cup in Italy, new details appeared. It turned out that the reason for the suspicions put forward against the mentor of using someone else's accreditation to violate anti-doping rules could be an interview with four-time Olympic champion Alexander Tikhonov, which he gave on February 17, five days before the police visited the hotel of the Russian national team.
At least, this version of the development of events in his Telegram channel was put forward by television commentator Dmitry Guberniev. He said that he had received documents from which it follows that Tikhonov’s interview formed the basis of the police request of the anti-doping manager of the International Biathlon Union (IBU), Sarah Fussek-Hakkarainen. The journalist considered such actions on the part of the former athlete denunciation.
“Guys, interesting! We have a doubt that you, dear man, are a snitch ... The girl who wrote the denunciation on Loginov at the Biathlon World Championships relied on the words of Alexander Tikhonov! Copies of documents from Italy in my hands, fragments will publish today! Official docks, ”wrote Guberniev.
After some time, the commentator posted a fragment of the document on his social networks, which mentions an excerpt from Tikhonov’s interview. It reports that Kasperovich, as a personal trainer of Loginov, according to some reports, was present at the World Cup with someone else's accreditation. Further in the document it is indicated that this information, "apparently, is confirmed" by Tikhonov’s interview (released on News.ru on February 17). In it, the former president of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) said that Kasperovich received accreditation from Ukraine.
“It was Vasiliev (Dmitry, President of the Biathlon Federation of St. Petersburg. - RT ) who sent Kasperovich Loginov to the World Cup. The Biathlon Union has absolutely nothing to do with it ... Kasperovich came at the expense of the St. Petersburg Biathlon Federation, not the SBR (in the original interview, this proposal is a question that the journalist asks Tikhonov. - RT ). They did not even give him accreditation, and Ukraine gave him it. We have excellent relations with the Ukrainian, Belarusian and Kazakh teams. Alexander Nikiforov came from Novosibirsk and received accreditation of Kazakhstan. This is how the Russian Biathlon Union works for us. It’s just a guard, ”these quotes translated into English using Google Translate (this is directly indicated in the document), added Fussek-Hakkarainen to her report.
Guberniev criticized Tikhonov for his words and stated that it was this interview that caused the searches of Kasperovich and Loginov, which ultimately led to the athlete's refusal to participate in the mass start, where he was one of the contenders for medals.
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“Ms. Fussek based her interview on Tikhonov, where he talks about Ukrainian accreditation, Kasperovich, the biathlon federation of St. Petersburg. Apparently, after this, the whole story started. I want to say that this is monstrous. We are already used to the fact that these interviews are blue, but there it is all taken very seriously. Tikhonov was the first vice president of IBU for many years. Everyone will draw conclusions himself: for whom the Russian biathlon is a way to chat, and not to real life. Nobody knew about the history of Kasperovich’s accreditation; everyone learned after Tikhonov’s interview. I didn’t tell about this in the reports. Tikhonov at the World Cup walked and talked with many people. We don’t know what else he could say in his hatred of today's Russia, Drachev and the RRF, ”Guberniev told the Championship.
Even before the publication of the document, Tikhonov himself reacted sharply to Guberniev’s accusations: “There was nothing like this. I am not such an idiot as Guberniev. He no longer knows how to bite Tikhonov. I will give out all my phone calls. Well, a fool a fool, what else can I say. "
According to RT, although it was Tikhonov’s interview that was indicated as indirect evidence that Kasperovich was at the World Championships in Ukrainian accreditation, it was not the direct cause of the proceedings initiated by Fussek-Hakkarainen. Kasperovich himself did not hide the fact that on February 16 he was present at the men's pursuit pursuit of someone else's accreditation, and spoke about this in a conversation with other persons. On the same day, the IBU launched an investigation into this story. On February 19, during the individual race Kasperovich was no longer allowed on this accreditation to the track.
Tikhonov later said that they could tell the IBU about Kasperovich’s accreditation in the SBR, and did not consider himself guilty of the scandal, because he voiced the information that was already known.
“Now the SBR is trying to shift from a sick mind to a healthy situation with a denunciation to the police. Allegedly, in a letter to Sarah Fussek there is a link to my interview, where I talk about Kasperovich’s presence of Ukrainian accreditation. I saw this document, and it says: "There were reports that Alexander Kasperovich attends the world championship in fake accreditation, which confirms the interview with Alexander Tikhonov." Guberniev is probably very ill with English and there is no one to help with the translation. So, the original source of this information was made by unknown speakers. I am sure that the representatives of the SBR leadership, who first reported to Kasperovich in the IBU, and now are trying to blame everything on Kasperovich and me, are standing behind their own. Although I’m sure that the SBU received this publication at the IBU with a light hand, ”wrote Tikhonov on his blog.