WADA is disappointed but powerless against the court’s decision.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has left Russian athletes without national symbols for two whole years. The decision, unprecedented in its harshness, has led to significant restrictions on our sport, but even the most unpleasant things tend to come to an end sooner or later.
WADA really didn’t want the suspension to end, but still had to accept defeat.
The organization cannot ban the flag and anthem of Russia!
Adapt to constraints
On December 17, 2022, the sanctions against Russian sports ended, as a result of which our athletes could not compete at the World Cup and Olympic Games with national symbols, and the country could not host (except in exceptional cases) world-class internationals tournaments. It is for this reason that fans watched the ROC teams in Tokyo and Beijing without a flag and anthem, and at the world championships, Russians performed under the auspices of national federations.
Another set of international problems for Russian sports emerged after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recognized the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) as non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code in December 2019. As punishment, the Russian sport provided for a four-year disqualification, however, through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it was possible to reduce the suspension period to two years. The sanctions took effect immediately after the final verdict was issued in December 2020.
The restrictions did not lead to Russians being completely isolated from international sports. The bans did not apply, for example, to European championships, stages of the World Cup, youth and junior championships – at these tournaments our athletes performed with a flag and anthem. And if the competitions were scheduled in Russia, no one in WADA would even think that they would resent the fact of their participation, if it did not concern the world championships.
In fact, even with the World Cup during the suspension period, it was possible to find compromise solutions, since the CAS verdict allowed for the possibility of organizing tournaments if international federations had difficulty finding a replacement. In 2021, Moscow hosted the World Beach Soccer Championship, where the RFU team won.
In other words, we managed to adapt to the new realities. However, it was a pity to see how our skiers, gymnasts, swimmers, skaters and other athletes shone at the Olympic Games, but did not have the opportunity to enjoy the victories to the sound of the Russian anthem.
“Must respect the decision of the CAS”
The end of all this disgrace with the absence of national symbols was scheduled for December 17, 2022, if you follow the law to the letter. However, having an idea of u200bu200bhow international structures around sports, if necessary, find ways to punish Russian sports, they did not fully believe that WADA would calmly tolerate Russia’s return to the international arena.
Shortly before the known date, the media hinted that the organization was dissatisfied with the anti-doping legislation in our country. It seemed that a new set of allegations was about to appear. However, so far all these fears have not materialized: WADA really can’t do anything about the current situation.
— The CAS decision is clear and self-explanatory. The CAS sanctions will automatically expire on December 17. There is nothing in the rules that allows WADA to extend these consequences beyond this date. We are disappointed that CAS did not approve our proposed set of sanctions, which included a four-year suspension. Everyone knew this day would come. For us, this is happening too soon, but CAS has made its decision and, like all other stakeholders, we must respect it,” Match TV told WADA.
Therefore, we can say that the World Anti-Doping Agency is unable to somehow prevent Russia from returning to the world stage, although even the tone of the official statement gives the impression that the organization is suffering greatly from this fact .
In the near future, the RUSADA recovery process will begin, and it’s probably not worth counting on it to be easy and trouble-free. WADA may try to find reasons to delay the issue of recognizing our National Anti-Doping Organization’s compliance with international standards. So far, the key date here is January 7, 2023. By this date, all the deficiencies that now exist should be eliminated.
New hard limits
The restoration of RUSADA may be delayed, but this should have nothing to do with the restrictions on our athletes. The punishment in the form of a ban on national symbols in international tournaments has come to an end and somehow can no longer be extended or renewed. The last word was left to the CAS, which limited everything to two years. And if WADA still wants to create new problems for Russia, then international anti-doping fighters will have to find another reason.
Unfortunately, a pleasant time for all of our sport will not lead to the fact that tomorrow we will see Russian athletes at international competitions. And if one of them performs abroad, he won’t hear the national anthem and he won’t see the flag. The problem lies with the International Olympic Committee and sports federations, which in the spring of 2022 introduced new, even more severe restrictions. Russians are prohibited from participating in almost all international competitions with national symbols, and the country itself cannot host tournaments under the auspices of the IOC and federations.
It’s unclear when this ban, which reeks of politics and ethnic discrimination, will end. After all, the formal reason for the ban was not a court decision, but only the recommendation of the head of the IOC Thomas Bach, which, oddly enough, almost all international sports federations began to respect unquestioningly.
In theory, all these bans could be lifted everywhere tomorrow as well, if the president of the International Olympic Committee makes a statement to that effect. If this declaration is not followed, the federations can decide privately on the restoration of the rights of Russian sports.
Something similar was done in the International Boxing Association (IBA), allowing Russia to participate in all its tournaments with a flag and anthem, except for the world championships. Now that WADA sanctions are no longer in force, our boxers will also be able to participate in the world championships, and in case of victory, they will hear the anthem to the music of Alexandrov and see the tricolor that gladdens the heart under the arches of the Arena.
Read also:
