World Anti-Doping Agency imposes 4-year ban on Russia
The World Anti-Doping Agency on Monday banned Russia from global sporting events including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics after accusing Moscow of falsifying data from an anti-doping laboratory. "The full list of recommendations have been unanimously accepted," said WADA spokesman James Fitzgerald, speaking at a meeting of the body's executive committee in Lausanne.
- Sports
- AP & AFP
- Published Date: 02:57 | 09 December 2019
- Modified Date: 02:57 | 09 December 2019
The Russian flag and national anthem were banned from the Olympics and other major sports events for four years by the World Anti-Doping Agency on Monday.
"The full list of recommendations have been unanimously accepted," said WADA spokesman James Fitzgerald, speaking at a meeting of the body's executive committee in Lausanne.
"WADA's executive committee approved unanimously to assert a non-compliance on the Russian anti-doping agency for a period of four years," he added.
"They are going to have prove they had nothing to do with the non-compliance, (that) they were not involved in the doping schemes as described by the McLaren report, or they did not have their samples affected by the manipulation," Fitzgerald said.
Russia's hosting of world championships in Olympic sports also face being stripped after the WADA executive committee approved a full slate of recommended sanctions for tampering with a Moscow laboratory database.
Russian athletes will be allowed to compete in major events only if they are not implicated in positive doping tests or their data was not manipulated, according to the WADA ruling.
Still, it is unclear how the ruling will affect Russian teams taking part in world championships such as soccer's World Cup.
Russia's anti-doping agency can appeal the decision.