Russians railing over ban from Paralympics

A ban on Russian athletes competing in the Rio Paralympics was upheld on Tuesday, triggering anger in Moscow after the country lost an appeal against its exclusion over a state-run doping program.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed an appeal filed by the Russian Paralympic Committee, which sought to overturn the Aug7banbytheInternational Paralympic Committee.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev denounced the doping charges as a “thick and very nasty cocktail” and said the Paralympic ban constituted a “cynical” attempt by rivals to remove strong competitors from the Games.

The IPC took the tough action after the release of a bombshell report commissioned by the World AntiDoping Agency, detailing drug-cheating directed by government officials and affecting dozens of sports.

Citing evidence compiled by WADA lead investigator Richard McLaren of Canada, the IPC argued Russia’s disabled athletes had failed to comply with global anti-doping codes.

The Lausanne-based CAS said Russia’s appeal “did not include any evidence contradicting the facts on which the IPC decision was based”.

In a statement, the court confirmed Russia’s ban from the Sept 7-18 Paralympics.

Medvedev, however, said on Facebook the decision showed “a number of states and their political and sports establishments were looking for a traditional enemy and found it once again.”

Russian Paralympic Committee president Vladimir Lukin indicated the barred athletes would pursue their case further by filing individualcomplaintsattheEuropean Court of Human Rights.

However, IPC president Philip Craven said the decision “underlines our strong belief that doping has absolutely no place in Paralympic sport”.

The ruling was applauded by the president of Germany’s National Paralympic Committee, Friedhelm Julius Beucher.

“The judgement is a sign of consistent zero-tolerance on doping,” he said.

The Paralympics ban was the latest blow to Russian sport, which has been condemned by a mountain of doping allegations in recent months.

The country narrowly escaped an outright International Olympic Committee ban from the just-concluded Rio Games, but still saw dozens of its athletes barred, including almost the entire athletics team.