WADA commission recommends IAAF suspend Russia from competition, including 2016 Olympic Games
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Updated 09/11/2015 at 15:50 GMT
A World Anti-Doping Agency report has recommended that the IAAF should suspend Russia from competition.
Richard W. Pound (L), World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Founding President and former IOC Vice President speaks next to Guenter Younger
Image credit: Reuters
A three-man panel, headed by WADA commission chairman Dick Pound, was instructed by the IAAF to look into claims of systemic cheating and a cover-up and spent 11 months preparing a 350-page report which was published on Monday.
Pound’s report into Russian doping practices found "a deeply rooted culture of cheating...at all levels is widespread and of long standing".
It is alleged that positive tests were covered up and that money was demanded of athletes to make evidence of drugs offences disappear.
Dick Pound called the findings “pretty disturbing", and said the corruption was "worse than we thought", in a press conference which included his agreement that the picture painted was one of "state-sponsored doping".
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The report on corruption and money-laundering within the international athletics body is distributed to journalists
Image credit: AFP
The report says the International Olympic Committee should not allow Russian athletes to complete in track and field events at the Rio Olympics unless the Russian federation takes step to address the serious problems highlighted by WADA.
It also suggests lifetime bans for five runners.
“For 2016, our recommendation is that Russia is suspended," said Pound. “The outcome may be that there are no Russian track-and-field athletes in Rio. If they do the surgery and do the therapy, I hope that they can get there. Sometimes, if the conduct is such and it’s not corrected, that’s the price you pay for it.”
A ban for Russian athletes is firmly on the table, with an IAAF statement reading: "In response to WADA's Independent Commission report issued today, the IAAF President, Sebastian Coe, has taken the urgent step of seeking approval from his fellow IAAF Council Members to consider sanctions against the Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF). These sanctions could include provisional and full suspension and the removal of future IAAF events."
Test samples destroyed by Moscow lab
WADA’s commission recommended that Moscow’s anti-doping lab should lose its accreditation with the country found to have destroyed thousands of samples ahead of a WADA visit.
Russian state and FSB role highlighted
The Russian government has also been criticised for "direct intimidation" over the Moscow doping lab, through the FSB, the successor to the KGB.
IAAF passages kept back as police investigate
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(From L) Barrister & Solicitor Richard McLaren, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President Richard W Pound and Head of Department Cybercrime with Bavarian Landeskriminalamt (LKA)
Image credit: AFP
WADA's report was expected to be highly critical of the IAAF - which recently saw former president Lamine Diack placed under investigation by French police for alleged corruption over a doping cover-up.
With the French criminal investigation ongoing, some sections of the report regarding the IAAF will not be made available on Monday.
However, there have been some insights into corruption in the sport.
Diack was president of the IAAF for 16 years and stands accused of accepting more than €1 million to cover up positive doping tests. Last week, he was arrested along with IAAF lawyer Habib Cisse and anti-doping chief Gabriel Dolle.
The IAAF responds
The IAAF issued a statement in response to the WADA report, indicating that it would consider suspending Russia from competition.
In response to WADA's Independent Commission report issued today, the IAAF President, Sebastian Coe, has taken the urgent step of seeking approval from his fellow IAAF Council Members to consider sanctions against the Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF). These sanctions could include provisional and full suspension and the removal of future IAAF events.
Commenting on the report, the IAAF President said: "The information in WADA's Independent Commissions Report is alarming. We need time to properly digest and understand the detailed findings included in the report. However, I have urged the Council to start the process of considering sanctions against ARAF. This step has not been taken lightly. Our athletes, partners and fans have my total assurance that where there are failures in our governance or our anti-doping programmes we will fix them. We will do whatever it takes to protect the clean athletes and rebuild trust in our sport. The IAAF will continue to offer the police authorities our full co-operation into their ongoing investigation.
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