Sports
This follows as a result of the allegations of a state-run doping program involving Russian athletes during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
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Russia has been handed a four-year ban from all major sporting events by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), including next year’s Tokyo Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in 2022. The ban prohibits the country from hosting international events, as per reports.
After the development, the Russian flag and anthem will not be allowed at any major sporting event. However, athletes who will be able to prove that they are untainted by the doping scandal will be able to compete under a neutral flag.
The decision came after Russia’s Anti Doping Agency (RUSADA) was declared non-compliant for manipulating laboratory data handed over to investigators in January this year.
Rusada now have a period of 21 days to appeal against the ban and if they do, the appeal will be referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). If the appeal does not go Russia’s way, then the ban might be extended to other international sporting events including the FIFA World Cup.
WADA Vice-President Linda Helleland, however, felt the four-year ban was “not enough”. “I wanted sanctions that can not be watered down. We owe it to the clean athletes to implement the sanctions as strongly as possible,” she was quoted as saying by the BBC.
The ban comes as a result of the allegations of a state-run doping program involving Russian athletes during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, to guarantee dominance in the Games. The modus operandi included replacing the urine tainted with performance-enhancing drugs with clean urine overnight by Russian anti-doping experts and members of the intelligence services. Russia have been banned from competing as a nation in athletics since 2015.
Despite the ban, Russia will be able to compete at Euro 2020, in which St. Petersburg will be a host city, as European football’s governing body UEFA is not defined as a ‘major event organisation’.
(With inputs from IANS)
After the development, the Russian flag and anthem will not be allowed at any major sporting event. However, athletes who will be able to prove that they are untainted by the doping scandal will be able to compete under a neutral flag.
The decision came after Russia’s Anti Doping Agency (RUSADA) was declared non-compliant for manipulating laboratory data handed over to investigators in January this year.
Rusada now have a period of 21 days to appeal against the ban and if they do, the appeal will be referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). If the appeal does not go Russia’s way, then the ban might be extended to other international sporting events including the FIFA World Cup.
WADA Vice-President Linda Helleland, however, felt the four-year ban was “not enough”. “I wanted sanctions that can not be watered down. We owe it to the clean athletes to implement the sanctions as strongly as possible,” she was quoted as saying by the BBC.
The ban comes as a result of the allegations of a state-run doping program involving Russian athletes during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, to guarantee dominance in the Games. The modus operandi included replacing the urine tainted with performance-enhancing drugs with clean urine overnight by Russian anti-doping experts and members of the intelligence services. Russia have been banned from competing as a nation in athletics since 2015.
Despite the ban, Russia will be able to compete at Euro 2020, in which St. Petersburg will be a host city, as European football’s governing body UEFA is not defined as a ‘major event organisation’.
(With inputs from IANS)
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Source: TheNewsMinute.com