Moscow (AFP)

The recommendation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to declare non-conforming the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) is logical and expected, said Saturday the boss of Rusada.

"Everything is in line with the legal logic, as planned," said Yuri Ganous, to the Russian agency Interfax, the day after the recommendation of the WADA Compliance Review Committee (CRC), which could lead to suspension of Russia for the Tokyo-2020 Olympic Games.

"Rusada is found to be non-compliant because the compliance decision issued in September 2018 was subject to two conditions: they were formally fulfilled but not properly," added Ganous, who expects WADA's executive committee to follow suit. this recommendation on December 9th.

That day, the executive committee will meet in Paris to evaluate the current procedure and to take any sanctions. Penalties to which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) must then comply.

Ganous, however, believes that "the quality of Rusada's work" is not questioned. "It's a purely technical decision ... the conditions were not met, but it was not our responsibility".

The Compliance Review Board issued this recommendation as a result of "inconsistencies" in the data retrieved by WADA investigators from the Moscow Laboratory, at the heart of a 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.

WADA had previously warned Russia that it would face "the most severe sanctions" if any of these transmitted data were falsified, which the Russian government formally challenges.

The Russian Athletics Federation (Rusaf) is due to meet on Saturday to choose a new president after the World Athletics has suspended its current boss and four other leaders suspected of "obstructing an investigation" aiming at the high jumper Danil Lysenko.

Following this sanction, the IAAF on Friday suspended the process of reinstatement of Russia, banned since November 2015 from international athletics competitions due to the establishment of this system of institutional doping.

© 2019 AFP