MOSCOW -- Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko, who has come under scrutiny in Russias doping scandal and was banned from attending the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, was promoted to a deputy prime minister on Wednesday.President Vladimir Putin approved a proposal by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to appoint Mutko to a deputy premiership in charge of sport, tourism and youth policies, in a decision shown by state TV.Mutkos longtime deputy minister, Pavel Kolobkov, a former gold medal-winning Olympic fencer who has represented Russia at the World Anti-Doping Agency, moves up to become the new sports minister.Mutkos elevation comes despite him having been personally accused by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren of ordering the cover-up of a failed drug test by a foreign soccer player.Mutko was also denied accreditation to the Rio Olympics in August by the IOC after being named in the McLaren report. He has denied wrongdoing and suggested the report was biased against Russia.Mutkos anti-doping adviser, Nataliya Zhelanova, and one of his deputies at the sports ministry, Yuri Nagornykh, have been suspended on Putins orders since July, when McLaren accused them of helping to orchestrate cover-ups of hundreds of drug tests.Mutko becomes one of nine deputy prime ministers in Russia, a title which adds to the wide array of other posts he holds. In addition to his governmental duties, Mutko is a member of the ruling council of world soccer governing body FIFA, chairman of the local organizing committee for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and president of the Russian soccer federation.As well as the increase in rank, Mutkos new role reportedly gives him back powers over youth affairs and tourism, which were previously under his control when they were separated from the sports ministry by Putin in a government shake-up in 2012.There have been sporadic signs of discontent among some Russian sports figures over Mutkos leadership. Last month, he survived a leadership challenge as head of the soccer federation, a non-governmental organization. Mutkos main rival accused him of using the sports ministrys authority to coerce voters at the federations conference and suggested some had been threatened with losing their jobs for failing to back Mutko.Mutko personally intervened to cover up a doping case of at least one foreign (soccer player) in the Russian League, according to email evidence obtained by the WADA inquiry led by McLaren.The report alleged an additional 11 positive tests of Russian soccer players were made to disappear in a state-sponsored doping program from late 2011 to 2015.WADAs executive board called on FIFAs independent ethics court to act against Mutko, who has been a member of the scandal-scarred soccer bodys ruling panel since 2009.Among seven key demands, WADA leaders urged FIFA leaders to look into allegations concerning football (soccer) and the role played by a member of its executive committee, Minister Vitaly Mutko.---AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth in Minsk, Belarus, contributed to this report. 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I give my thoughts to all the families and to the people who died.He said his girlfriend, her family and his friends are safe.Sordet used a blue marker to write the words Pray For Nice on his cap for his second round. He was in the first group out for the second round at 6:35 a.m., and shot 4-over 75.I tried not to think about, thats why I had this on my hat, Sordet said, pointing to the side of his cap. I just tried to enjoy the last day at the Open.Sordet was born in Charbonnieres-les-Bains, near Lyon. He mmoved to Nice, where his girlfriend is from.dddddddddddd He wont be back there for another two weeks because he is about to play in back-to-back tournaments.Sordet said he wouldnt be nervous going back to France. The attack in Nice has rocked a nation still dealing with the aftermath of two attacks in Paris last year that killed a total of 147 people.Im really proud to be French, he said. We need to support each other.Victor Dubuisson, who was born in Cannes, a city just down the coast from Nice in southeastern France, is the other French golfer in the British Open field. Dubuisson tees off in the afternoon.The French flag that flies above the grandstand at the 18th green, along with the banners of every other nation represented in the 156-player field, was lowered to half-staff Friday.The R&A, which organizes the British Open, has made black ribbons available for players and caddies to wear as a mark of respect to those who died in the attack in Nice. ' ' '