RUSSIAN footballers were protected from being caught doping under direct government orders that lab director Grigory Rodchenkov said he followed to ensure cheating was covered up as part of a far-reaching conspiracy.

Rodchenkov claimed in an interview with the US Associated Press agency published on Saturday that an instruction to “avoid any scandal” came from then sports minister Vitaly Mutko, who is now deputy prime minister.

“Russian footballers were immune from doping-control actions or sanctions,” Rodchenkov said in response to questions through his lawyer from his hiding place in the US.

Rodchenkov fled Russia two years ago to allege a widespread Russian doping cover-up, notably at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and in athletics.

But the focus has turned to football, with the Russian World Cup kicking off in June.

Amid mounting evidence of his role in the doping deception that turned his country into Olympic outcasts, Mutko recently stepped down as head of both Russia’s football federation and the World Cup organising committee.

While Mutko has been banned for life from the Olympics, he has not faced any footballing sanctions and continues to oversee World Cup preparations and Russian sport policy.

“Mutko ordered protection for Russian footballers when he was the president of the Russian Football Union,” Rodchenkov said.

“He told me directly to ‘avoid any scandal by hiding positive results’ and ‘doping would be handled internally,’ meaning that those doping irresponsibly or without protocols could be disciplined or reported.”

Football’s world governing body Fifa has only recently tried to obtain evidence from Rodchenkov, with particular suspicion around 34 cases identified by the World Anti-Doping Agency which are said to include members of the 2014 World Cup squad.

Rodchenkov said he was sceptical about Fifa’s determination to uncover the extent performance-enhancing substances were used by Russian players.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino recently appeared to pre-empt the outcome of internal inquiries — which Fifa insists it is undertaking as a matter of urgency — by saying: “If there was a big issue regarding Russian players who would be doped we would by now already know it.”

When asked about Infantino’s remark, Rodchenkov said: “This is more burying heads in the sand.”

Russia has accused Rodchenkov of being a US agent out to smear the country.