Russia Has Been Banned From Participating In International Sports Championships For Two Years

Photo illustration (Simon Conellan / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Russia is prohibited from sending a national team for the Olympics and any world championship sporting event for the next two years. The decision reduced the length of Russia's suspension issued by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2019.

Russian athletes who are allowed to compete will also not be allowed to use the Russian flag and national anthem. To quote USA Today, Friday 18 December, in a decision announced on Thursday, December 17, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) unanimously found that Russia was not complying with international anti-doping rules.

WADA has asked for a stricter four-year ban for Russia. The Swiss-based court said the commuted sentences should not be taken as validation of Russia's actions.

"This decision takes into account the issue of proportionality and in particular, the need to influence cultural change and encourage the next generation of Russian athletes to participate in clean international sports," the court said.

Under the existing provisions, the word "Russia" cannot appear on the uniforms of athletes and athletes competing under the neutral flag. The uniform may not bear the Russian name, but it is allowed to bear the colors of the Russian flag.

The Russian national anthem will also not be played or sung at any official event venue. The two-year period starts today and ends on December 16, 2022. The decision will affect Russia's participation in the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo, the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

"A clean Russian athlete can take part in the Olympics without any restrictions and do so in a team formed by the national Olympic committee," said Russian Olympic Committee president Stanislav Pozdnyakov.

Russia's anti-doping agency (RUSADA) also had to pay $ 1.27 million to WADA for costs incurred in its investigation. It is not clear why the court agreed with WADA's findings, but decided on a lighter sentence than the four-year participation ban announced in December 2019.

WADA said in a statement that the verdict was "clear support" for its claim that data from a laboratory in Moscow had been tampered with before being turned over to WADA investigators.

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"WADA is pleased to win this important case," said the organization's president, Witold Bańka, in a statement.

"The Panel clearly upholds the finding that the Russian authorities bravely and illegally manipulated Moscow Laboratory data to cover up an institutionalized doping scheme. In the face of persistent rejection from Russia, we clearly proved our case, according to due process."

US Anti-Doping Agency leader Travis Tygart considered the penalties for Russia a "significant loss" for net athletes.

"There is no consolation in this weak and facilitated result," Tygart said in a statement. "To once again escape consequences meaningful to crime, let alone a real ban, is a devastating blow to athletes of cleanness, the integrity of sport and the rule of law."