Wada Endorses Four Year Ban For Russia
WADA has imposed a ban on Russia, officially excluding the nation from all major sporting competitions for four years.
The news means the country will not be able to compete at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, or the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, though individual Russian athletes who can prove that they are clean will be allowed to compete.
Those athletes will compete under a neutral flag, as the ban on Russia prohibits the country’s flag, anthem and name from being included in major sporting events over the next four years thanks to a unanimous decision from WADA’s executive committee at a meeting in Lausanne on Monday 9th December.
The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) was accused of manipulating laboratory data handed over to WADA investigators in January 2019 and was deemed non-compliant by the anti-doping agency. The country had been suspected of running a widespread, state-sanctioned doping programme, with numerous Russian athletes banned after the 2014 Olympic Games.
WADA President Sir Craig Reedie said: “The ExCo’s strong decision today shows WADA’s determination to act resolutely in the face of the Russian doping crisis, thanks to the Agency’s robust investigatory capability, the vision of the CRC, and WADA’s recently acquired ability to recommend meaningful sanctions via the Compliance Standard which entered into effect in April 2018. Combined, these strengths have enabled the ExCo to make the right decisions at the right time.
“For too long, Russian doping has detracted from clean sport. The blatant breach by the Russian authorities of RUSADA’s reinstatement conditions, approved by the ExCo in September 2018, demanded a robust response. That is exactly what has been delivered today. Russia was afforded every opportunity to get its house in order and re-join the global anti-doping community for the good of its athletes and of the integrity of sport, but it chose instead to continue in its stance of deception and denial. As a result, the WADA ExCo has responded in the strongest possible terms, while protecting the rights of Russian athletes that can prove that they were not involved and did not benefit from these fraudulent acts.
“On behalf of the ExCo, and of the many WADA stakeholders that supported the CRC recommendation, I would like to thank the members of the CRC for their expert and considered recommendation, as well as WADA I&I and the forensic experts for their skill, diligence and perseverance in getting to the bottom of this highly complex case.”
The country’s track athletes have been banned from athletics since 2015, with 30 Russian athletes authorised to compete as neutral athletes at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha.
168 athletes competed under a neutral flag across 15 sports at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang winning a total of 17 medals including two golds.
