Geneva (AP) – Russia was banned from using its name, flag and anthem at the next two Olympics or any World Championships for the next two years on Thursday.
The court’s decision in the Arbitration for Sport barred Russia from bidding to host major sporting events for two years.
Russian athletes and teams will still be allowed to participate in next year’s Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, as well as the World Championships in Qatar, including the 2022 World Cup, if they do not take doping or positive tests.
The sentences are less than the World Anti-Doping Agency’s proposed four-year ban.
A small victory for Russia is the name of the team proposed at major events. The court said “Russia” could be named on uniforms if the words “neutral athlete” or “neutral team” were equally prominent.
However, three court judges imposed the toughest fines on Russia since allegations of state-backed doping and cover-ups surfaced after the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
The case focuses on allegations that Russian state officials tampered with a Moscow testing laboratory database before handing it over to WADA investigators last year. It contained potential evidence of long-running doping violations.
The CAS process was formally between WADA and the Russian anti-doping agency. The Russian agency, known as Rusada, was deemed disobedient last year – a decision upheld by three judges on Thursday.
Rusada was also ordered to pay Wada 1.27 million.
During a four-day trial in Lausanne last month, Russian athletes and their lawyers argued as a third party that they should not be punished for abuse by state officials who did not participate in sports.
Providing the lab database to WADA by the December 2018 deadline was a key condition for Rusada to be reinstated three months ago when the previous expulsion action was removed from the anti-doping community.
WADA investigators in Moscow finally found the data a month late. Evidence from doping tests and emails appeared to be deleted or altered, and CT Blowers were trapped.
The rules allow Russian government officials, including President Vladimir Putin, to attend major sporting events at the invitation of the host country’s head of state.
WADA investigators visited Moscow two years ago and began examining the evidence that would help sports organizations prosecute doping violations for years.
Although Russia will be excluded from hosting the World Championships in the next two years, the programs can be restored. Governing Bodies are advised to find a new host “unless it is legally or practically impossible to do so.”
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