The Ukrainian sports minister has announced the resignation of the head of the national anti-doping agency (NADC), which is facing accusations it has violated international standards for years.
"The NADC has violated the international testing standard. Today, the director of the NADC, Ivan Kurlishchuk, and his deputy, Yaroslav Kruchek, resigned," Vadym Huttsait said in a statement on October 27.
“The ministry states that we take a clear position in the fight against doping and will not allow anyone to violate anti-doping rules," the statement reads.
NADC was not immediately available for comment.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on October 26 accused the NADC of giving athletes advance notice of what were supposed to be random out-of-competition tests in a scheme dating back nearly a decade.
The investigation, dubbed Operation Hercules, also found that NADC categorized at least six in-competition athletes samples as out-of-competition samples last year.
The findings will now be turned over to WADA's Compliance Review Committee for possible sanction.
Heads Of Ukraine Anti-Doping Body Resign After WADA Probe
The resignations come after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accused Ukraine's anti-doping organization of giving athletes advance notice of what were supposed to be random out-of-competition tests. (file photo)