MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko, a long-serving sports official entangled in allegations of state-sponsored doping, resigned as head of Russia's Football Union on Wednesday, the soccer body said. The Russian Football Union will elect a new president on Feb. 22 and Sergei Pryadkin, vice president of the Russian Football Union and president of Russia's Premier League, will serve as head of the union until then, executive committee member Igor Lebedev wrote on Twitter. "As president of the Russian Football Union, I was faced with the task of normalising Russian soccer, and then with a new challenge - the World Cup," Mutko told TASS news agency. Mutko also stepped down as head of Russia's World Cup Local Organising Committee six months before the tournament. Despite phasing out his formal involvement in Russian sport, Mutko has remained close to the field.

Source: The Star December 19, 2018 11:32 UTC