A reporter for a British newspaper has been accused of "harassing" Kamila Valieva after he claimed "very unhappy" Russian reporters attempted to take photos of his ID when he asked the 15-year-old a question at the Winter Olympics.
Riath Al-Samarrai, the Chief sports feature writer at the Daily Mail, said he had asked Valieva "if she was clean" as she passed reporters after training.
Valieva ignored questions from the media after the International Testing Agency (ITA) revealed on Friday that the skater tested positive for a banned heart drug in December.
The sample was tested in a WADA-accredited lab in Stockholm but only reported on February 8, the ITA said – a day after the favorite for the singles event played a starring role in the Russian Olympic Commitee winning team gold.
The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) provisionally suspended Valieva “with immediate effect,” according to the ITA, before the athlete successfully appealed the suspension before the RUSADA Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee, leading to her ban on training and competing being lifted by the end of the same day.
While Valieva was cleared to compete in next week's single event by RUSADA, the ITA said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to appeal the move to lift the suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a case which is ongoing.
"She was covering her face with her hood and didn’t stop or answer," said Al-Samarrai, who earlier shared a photo of Valieva on the ice.
"Russian reporters very unhappy with the question, taking pics of my accreditation."
Al-Samarrai received an almost unanimously critical response to his social media post amid increasing concern for the effect the saga will have on Valieva, who did not need to be named because she is a child and will be subject to protected status if she is subject to sanctions.
"Why would you even question her?" asked one, while others accused the heavily-followed writer of unprofessionalism.
"Please let her be alone with her thoughts as she tries to cope with all of this. Respect these athletes. How cruel of you."
Another said: "Why are you boasting about harassing a 15-year-old? I cannot understand."
An apologist for Al-Samarrai argued: "[Valieva is] an Olympic gold medalist at an international event with media properly invited in.
"[She was] officially identified and accused today by authorities. You were doing your job by seeking her reaction and from a designated media zone."
Few agreed with that viewpoint. "Shouldn’t have asked her," reacted one unimpressed reader.
"Total lack of respect for a young lady who is probably wondering what the hell is going on."
Valieva's appeal is set to be heard before February 15, which is the day of the women’s short skate in the single event, and will be led by the ITA on behalf of the IOC.
The ITA said the decision on whether the ROC will retain its team victory will be taken by the ISU following a final decision on the "full merits" of the case.
The Russian Figure Skating Federation insisted it has “no doubts” that Valieva is a clean athlete and pledged to “make every effort to clarify the circumstances of the incident.”