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Possible New Doping Sanctions Loom for Russia

Charles Maynes

   MOSCOW - Top Russian officials decried the recommendations by a World
   Anti-Doping Agency committee to suspend Russia from international
   competition over tainted athlete doping probes -- the latest in a drawn
   out saga over accusations of Russian state sponsored doping that has
   roiled global sport since 2014.

   Russian athletes, unsurprisingly, joined in expressing bitterness about
   the WADA recommendations. But while some argued the suggested WADA
   penalties were unduly harsh, others blamed a failure in Russian sport
   leadership for risking their chance to compete in the next two Olympic
   Games and perhaps beyond.

   The recommendations, issued by WADA's Compliance Review Committee on
   Monday, alleged evidence of tampering of some 2000 athlete probes at
   Moscow's RUSADA testing facility, and called for a four-year suspension
   of Russia from international competition, including the Olympic Games.

   Reacting to the pronouncement at a news conference on Tuesday, Russia
   Minister of Sport [1]Pavel Kolobkov noted the WADA commission
   recommendations were not final -- and insisted the body's investigators
   had failed thus far to take into account explanations by Russian
   experts.

   "The Russian side honestly fulfilled its obligations. We provided all
   necessary information," said Kolobkov. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
   Lavrov also weighed in on the issue -- cautioning that western media
   was often too quick to judge when it came to Russia.

References

   1. https://matchtv.ru/_sport/matchtvvideo_NI1116833_clip_Kommentarij_Pavla_Kolobkova_o_rekomendacijah_komiteta_WADA_otnositelno_rossijskogo_sporta

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