Moscow Expresses Protest To Rome Over Police Raid At Biathlete Loginov's Hotel Room

Moscow has expressed an official protest to Rome over a police search at Russian biathlete Alexander Loginov's hotel room amid World Championships in late February, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on Friday, adding that this move was unacceptable

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th March, 2020) Moscow has expressed an official protest to Rome over a police search at Russian biathlete Alexander Loginov's hotel room amid World Championships in late February, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on Friday, adding that this move was unacceptable.

The search at the biathlete's room in Italy's Rasen-Antholz, also known as Anterselva, took place in the early hours of February 22 ahead of a competition which Loginov ran in. Russian sports officials have told Sputnik that the police targeted Loginov and his personal coach, Alexander Kasperovich, on a tip-off by the International Biathlon Union. Russian Biathlon Union President Vladimir Drachev said that the search was related to the accreditation issues of Kasperovich and Loginov's old doping case.

"We have expressed our official protest to Italy in relation to a search of the Russian biathlete and his personal trainer at the Biathlon World Championships in the Italian town of Anterselva, conducted in the early morning of February 22. Russia said that such measures in relation to Russian athletes were unacceptable and disproportionate and noted the negative impact of this incident on the development of sports cooperation between our countries," Zakharova said at a briefing.

The spokeswoman added that the Italian police had confirmed to Russian officials that "no clear evidence" was found during the search.