Montreal (AFP)

Russia's participation in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 is more than ever uncertain after the recommendation of an independent committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to declare the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) non-compliant.

The ball is now in the lineup of WADA's Executive Committee, which is due to meet on December 9 in Paris, to evaluate the current procedure and take any sanctions. Penalties to which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) must then comply.

The Compliance Review Committee (CRC) issued this recommendation as a result of "inconsistencies" in data retrieved by WADA investigators from the Moscow Laboratory, at the heart of the doping system between 2011 and 2015 .

In January 2019, Russia had transmitted electronic control data to WADA, a condition that WADA had put in place to lift the suspension of that country in September 2018.

CRC's recommendation is based on data from the Montreal-based Agency's Information and Investigations Department, which announced in late October that it had received new responses from the Russian authorities "to a list of detailed technical questions".

Last week, Russian anti-doping chief Yuri Ganous said he expects Russia to be deprived of Olympic competitions in 2020 and 2022, denouncing the authorities' role in falsifying data transmitted to the Agency. anti-doping world.

To make matters worse in the case of Russia, the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) had suspended a few hours earlier the process of readmission of the country, banned since November 2015 due to a large scandal of institutional doping.

- The Lysenko case -

World Athletics chose the strong way and had the heavy hand vis-à-vis Russia, which sees further away the prospect of reinstating the short-term concert of the nations of the first Olympic sport.

The Task Force, tasked with assessing the country's progress in the fight against doping and making recommendations to the Council of the International Federation, has only taken note of the latest revelations of dubious practices still taking place in the country.

In addition to the sensitive issue of data from the Moscow laboratory, five leaders of the Russian Federation (Rusaf), including President Dmitry Chliakhtin, are involved in a dark case of providing false documents to the vice-world champion (2017) of the jump in height Danil Lysenko to help him escape a penalty for failing to meet his localization obligations for unannounced checks ("no shows").

The Rusaf and all the defendants, provisionally suspended, have until 12 December to provide answers to the Athletics Integrity Unit (IAU, an independent body in charge of anti-doping in athletics).

"On this basis, we have proposed to the Council, and this has been unanimously approved, to suspend the readmission process of the Russian Federation until the facts are clarified," said Rune Andersen, the boss. of the Task Force.

Another big consequence of the "Lysenko affair": the International Federation has asked the Task Force "to review the process of nominating athletes allowed to compete under a neutral banner and to make proposals to the Council to see if this mechanism should be pursued. and in what form, "Rune Andersen explained. The International Federation has also raised the threat of exclusion from Russia according to the forthcoming developments of ongoing investigations.

© 2019 AFP