Kamila Valieva doping scandal: 'Horrific' - BOA chief supports harsher ban for Russia if deliberately doped

ByEurosport

Published 20/02/2022 at 14:11 GMT

Kamila Valieva’s doping case has been the dominant story of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics after a positive test for a banned heart drug was revealed a day after she inspired the Russians to a gold medal in the figure skating team event. British Olympic Association (BOA) boss Andy Anson says he would back a harsher ban for Russia should they be found guilty of doping Valieva.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) wants a harsher ban imposed on Russia if it is proven that Kamila Valieva was deliberately doped by the nation's sporting authorities.

BOA chief executive Andy Anson says they had lobbied the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to investigate the skater's entourage after news erupted that Valieva had tested positive for a sample which was given on December 25.

Anson says he and the association will be pushing for a stronger punishment this time around if Russia have been proven of wrongdoing regarding Valieva's case. The country were already technically excluded for Beijing, albeit allowed to compete under the Russian Olympic Committee banner.

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“The Valieva stuff is horrific,” Anson said at the end of the Beijing Games. “I don’t think we can pretend that it’s anything other than that. The investigation into everyone around her needs to be thorough and go as deep as it possibly can because what happened there was just completely unacceptable.

“I have to say I’ve found the IOC very open, We’ve had discussions. We were pushing at the beginning that the entourage needed thoroughly investigating and a day or two that’s what came out. It sounded like they listened.

“The Sochi [2014] doping was clearly systematic and covered the whole team.

“That deserved to be punished. We were very frustrated by the CAS ruling that reduced the ban from four to two years. I still can’t understand the logic of reducing that. If the investigation into Valieva found that this was part of a sporting system that was doping this deliberately, of course we’d support a harsher ban."

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“This a global story and a pretty awful one,” he added.

“The IOC and everyone involved has to act and push this thing as far as they can. It’s not easy. I was on the tennis tour when there was the match-fixing scandal in Poland, and we tried to get to the bottom of that in Russia and the policemen who were leading that decided they would not be around if they carried on that investigation.

“But we have to push it as far as we can and make sure we get to the bottom of it.”

• 'At a loss' - Valieva coach responds after Bach's 'chilling' comment

Anson says if it was purely his decision anyone who is caught doping in Team GB would be banned from competing again.

He said: “If it was down to me personally, someone found guilty of a doping offence would never compete for Team GB again. I’m not sure legally I’d always win that battle but that’s how I feel about it. We want to send out the clearest possible message that it’s unacceptable."

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