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Lord Coe IAAF presidency campaign 'helped by Chelsea donation'

Lord Coe watches Chelsea play Hull at Stamford Bridge in December 2014
Image: Lord Coe watches Chelsea play Hull at Stamford Bridge in December 2014

Lord Coe's campaign for the IAAF presidency was helped by a donation from Chelsea, a spokesman for the peer has confirmed.

Coe is a long-time supporter of Chelsea and a paid consultant for the club - it appears on his House of Lords' register of interests - and the Chelsea board agreed to provide some funds for his campaign.

The club was one of several private donors, and he also received £63,000 from UK Sport for his campaign.

A spokesman for Coe said the Chelsea donation had been agreed by the board and not the club's Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

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The confirmation comes after Nick Davies, Coe's right-hand man at the IAAF, stepped aside from his role as the director of the president's office on Tuesday while he is investigated by the IAAF's ethics commission.

Davies faces allegations of unethical behaviour after the French newspaper Le Monde obtained a copy of an email sent by him in which he appears to discuss delaying the identification of Russian drug cheats in the run-up to the 2013 World Championships in Moscow.

Nick Davies denies trying to interfere with the IAAF's anti-doping procedure
Image: Nick Davies denies trying to interfere with the IAAF's anti-doping procedure

In the email sent to Papa Massata Diack - the son of former president Lamine Diack and who has rejected allegations of alleged extortion and bribery - Davies appears to look to minimise the impact of naming Russian athletes who have failed drug tests.

Davies, who denies any wrongdoing, said in a statement: "I have decided to step aside from my role with the IAAF until such time as the ethics board is able to review the matter properly and decide if I am responsible for any breach of the IAAF code of ethics."

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