Vitaly Mutko, a Russian deputy prime minister has announced his resignation from his role as the 2018 World Cup organising committee&#39;s chairman less than six months before the tournament begins in Russia.&nbsp;

The decision comes the same month as his lifetime ban from the Olympics following an investigation into allegations of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/russian-sports-minister-mutko-in-doping-controversy-spotlight-2760">state-sponsoring doping</a>.&nbsp;

&quot;I have decided to file the claim in the CAS tomorrow,&quot; The Straits Times quoted Mutko as saying.

Mutoko will be replaced by Alexei Sorokin, who is Russia 2018 chief executive and has also take his place on the FIFA council, reports said.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/football/russian-sports-minister-says-doping-cover-up-stories-are-silly-revenge-296">Russian sports minister says doping cover-up stories are silly revenge</a>

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the World Cup stated that their performance and preparation will not be affected by this decision. &nbsp;

Russia is hosting next year&rsquo;s football World Cup in 11 cities including Moscow, St Petersburg and Sochi.&nbsp;

According to local Russian media, Vitaly Mutko announced the suspension from his post during Russia&#39;s RFS football federation executive board meeting.

The decision comes the same month as his lifetime ban from the Olympics following an investigation into allegations of state-sponsoring doping

Vitaly Mutko, a Russian deputy prime minister has announced his resignation from his role as the 2018 World Cup organising committee's chairman less than six months before the tournament begins in Russia. The decision comes the same month as his lifetime ban from the Olympics following an investigation into allegations of state-sponsoring doping. "I have decided to file the claim in the CAS tomorrow," The Straits Times quoted Mutko as saying. Mutoko will be replaced by Alexei Sorokin, who is Russia 2018 chief executive and has also take his place on the FIFA council, reports said. Also read: Russian sports minister says doping cover-up stories are silly revenge The Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the World Cup stated that their performance and preparation will not be affected by this decision. Russia is hosting next year’s football World Cup in 11 cities including Moscow, St Petersburg and Sochi. According to local Russian media, Vitaly Mutko announced the suspension from his post during Russia's RFS football federation executive board meeting.

Vitaly Mutko resigns as chairman from 2018 Russia World Cup organising committee

Argentina sorely missed its injured captain and star player Lionel Messi as it suffered a humiliating defeat at&nbsp;hands of Paraguay in their World Cup qualifier on home turf.&nbsp;

Paraguay stunned the two-time world champions with a fast break from deep in their own half, Angel Romero playing the ball into the path of Derlis Gonzalez who beat Sergio Romero with a shot inside the near post in the 18th minute.&nbsp;

Argentina missed an opportunity just two minutes into the second half to get back on level, but Paraguay captain Justo Villar saved Sergio Aguero&#39;s weak penalty.

The defeat left the side five points behind new leaders Brazil in the South American group, who won 2-0 in Venezuela. The Argentine side will be desperate to have Messi back in shape for their next qualifier away to Brazil in Belo Horizonte on November 10.

Brazil leads the standings with 21 points from 10 matches, Uruguay is second with 20 points while Ecuador and Colombia are third and fourth respectively with 17 points apiece.&nbsp;

Brazil&#39;s striker Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring at Estadio Metropolitano in Merida on Tuesday by chipping over goalkeeper Hernandez Santos after some poor defending by Venezuela. Willian later made it 2-0 just after halftime with a slick first-time finish following a Renato Augusto cross.

The top four will go through to the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia, while the fifth-placed side go into an intercontinental playoff for another berth. &nbsp;&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

Lacking inspiration from captain Lionel Messi, Argentina suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Paraguay

Argentina sorely missed its injured captain and star player Lionel Messi as it suffered a humiliating defeat at hands of Paraguay in their World Cup qualifier on home turf. Paraguay stunned the two-time world champions with a fast break from deep in their own half, Angel Romero playing the ball into the path of Derlis Gonzalez who beat Sergio Romero with a shot inside the near post in the 18th minute. Argentina missed an opportunity just two minutes into the second half to get back on level, but Paraguay captain Justo Villar saved Sergio Aguero's weak penalty. The defeat left the side five points behind new leaders Brazil in the South American group, who won 2-0 in Venezuela. The Argentine side will be desperate to have Messi back in shape for their next qualifier away to Brazil in Belo Horizonte on November 10. Brazil leads the standings with 21 points from 10 matches, Uruguay is second with 20 points while Ecuador and Colombia are third and fourth respectively with 17 points apiece. Brazil's striker Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring at Estadio Metropolitano in Merida on Tuesday by chipping over goalkeeper Hernandez Santos after some poor defending by Venezuela. Willian later made it 2-0 just after halftime with a slick first-time finish following a Renato Augusto cross. The top four will go through to the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia, while the fifth-placed side go into an intercontinental playoff for another berth. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Argentina suffers defeat in WC qualifiers, Brazil tops South American group

FIFA on Monday decided to disband its racism task force despite waht many believe is a decision made in haste.&nbsp; 
 
FIFA defended its decision to end the task force&#39;s work that was established in 2013 by former FIFA President Sepp Blatter to eradicate racism in the sport.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;It had a very specific mandate and they came up with very strong recommendations and FIFA is acting on them,&quot; said the new secretary-general Fatma Samoura, insisting the mission had been a success.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;We can live with perception but we are taking very seriously our role as football&#39;s governing body to fight discrimination, it is well reflected in the statutes,&quot; Samoura stood by the decision. 
 
Delivering the keynote address at the Soccerex Global Football Convention, she said, &quot;Coming from the UN we must really be firm. It is really on top of the agenda of the FIFA administration. It is zero tolerance to discrimination on grounds of culture, racism colour of the skin and sexual orientation.&quot; 
 
But many criticised the timing of the decision that comes ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, including two-time former FIFA presidential candidate Prine Ali bin Hussein.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Transparency, trust, credibility and integrity are the values that should run through everything FIFA does - Not tackling the plague of racism and discrimination properly is an absolute betrayal of those values,&quot; said the former FIFA vice-president.&nbsp; 
 
And the British anti-discrimination body &#39;Kick It Out&#39; too expressed its disappointment.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;It is clear that organisations that are actively campaigning against racism and discrimination will be deeply disheartened to hear news of the disbandment, as they look to FIFA for leadership in a game which is so popular across the world,&quot; read the statement. 
 
Russia, which is hosting the next World Cup, is known for its notorious fans and their racist and abusive activities.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

FIFA received sharp criticism from the football world over its decision to end the group tasked with fighting discrimination in the sport

FIFA on Monday decided to disband its racism task force despite waht many believe is a decision made in haste. FIFA defended its decision to end the task force's work that was established in 2013 by former FIFA President Sepp Blatter to eradicate racism in the sport. "It had a very specific mandate and they came up with very strong recommendations and FIFA is acting on them," said the new secretary-general Fatma Samoura, insisting the mission had been a success. "We can live with perception but we are taking very seriously our role as football's governing body to fight discrimination, it is well reflected in the statutes," Samoura stood by the decision. Delivering the keynote address at the Soccerex Global Football Convention, she said, "Coming from the UN we must really be firm. It is really on top of the agenda of the FIFA administration. It is zero tolerance to discrimination on grounds of culture, racism colour of the skin and sexual orientation." But many criticised the timing of the decision that comes ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, including two-time former FIFA presidential candidate Prine Ali bin Hussein. "Transparency, trust, credibility and integrity are the values that should run through everything FIFA does - Not tackling the plague of racism and discrimination properly is an absolute betrayal of those values," said the former FIFA vice-president. And the British anti-discrimination body 'Kick It Out' too expressed its disappointment. "It is clear that organisations that are actively campaigning against racism and discrimination will be deeply disheartened to hear news of the disbandment, as they look to FIFA for leadership in a game which is so popular across the world," read the statement. Russia, which is hosting the next World Cup, is known for its notorious fans and their racist and abusive activities. (WION with inputs from agencies)

FIFA defends decision to disband anti-racism task force