Russia still has work to do to get ban lifted: WADA chief
LAUSANNE: Russia still has “significant work” before its scandal tainted antidoping operation regains global recognition, World Anti- Doping Agency ( WADA) chief Craig Reedie warned Monday.
The WADA chief said Russia’s national agency had not proved it was shielded against “outside interference.”
Reedie spoke at a WADA symposium in Lausanne as the Court of Arbitration for Sport ordered a life ban against Russian athletics doctor, Sergei Portugalov, one of the alleged masterminds of Russia’s “state-sponsored” doping system.
The Russian Anti- Doping Agency (RUSADA) has been suspended since the eruption of the scandal over the widespread use of banned substances in Russian sport in 2014.
“There remains significant work to do (for RUSADA). It must demonstrate its processes are autonomous and independent from outside interference,” Reedie told the symposium.
“We continue the work to restore the compliance of the Russian agency. WADA has had two experts in Moscow to ensure this independence,” Reedie added.
RUSADA was declared “non- complaint” with the international sports anti-doping code in November 2015 following an inquiry’s findings of statesponsored, systematic doping in Russia.
A report by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren for WADA said the Russian Sports Ministry organized the doping.
The Russian state has repeatedly denied any involvement.
Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov, who replaced Vitaly Mutko who was implicated in the McLaren report, said Monday that Russia hoped to be declared compliant by November.
WADA “has agreed to a road map to ensure that RUSADA is back in line with the World Anti-Doping Code,” Kolobkov told the symposium.
“Some of the criteria have already been achieved and we are working to ensure that all the criteria are met.
“The objective is to obtain a provisional conformity next May and RUSADA wants to regain its approval by November,” added Kolobkov.
“We have tripled RUSADA’s budget and we’ve placed the anti-doping laboratory under the control of the University of Moscow and no longer under the ministry of sports.”
The McLaren report said that as Sports Minister Mutko, must have known about the “state-sponsored” doping programs used to help Russian athletes at the 2012 London Olympics, 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, and the 2013 world athletics championships held in Moscow.