Washington (AFP)

The United States is threatening to end its financial aid to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) if it does not immediately adopt far-reaching reforms, according to a report by a White House organ, several media sources revealed on Thursday.

This 19-page report from ONDCP, one of the organs that make up the President's Executive Office, responsible for drug control policy, contains a series of recommendations to the US Congress based on numerous criticisms of the place. WADA, in particular on its management of the Russian doping scandal.

"The doping scandal in Russia continues to demonstrate the inadequacy of WADA in terms of independence and the ability to enforce the Anti-Doping Code firmly, effectively and in a timely manner, to hold the main countries accountable under the rules and to meet expectations, "said the report, excerpts of which are published by the Washington Post.

Russia has appealed a four-year ban on international competitions, including the Olympics. A suspension pronounced in December after WADA discovered that Moscow had supplied it with tampered laboratory data.

"American athletes, as well as all clean athletes around the world, need and deserve our swift action to make WADA free from conflicts of interest, more effective in protecting clean athletes, and better able to resist doping. institutionalized, "he added.

The report questions the court's use of US taxpayers' money. The United States is the largest contributor to WADA, with more than $ 2.7 million allocated to the 2020 budget, which totaled $ 37.4 million, half of which came from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

- "Return on investment" -

"The United States government has a duty to ensure that American taxpayers' money is spent efficiently for the purposes for which it is used," argues the ONDCP.

"American taxpayers should receive a return on investment in clean sport, fair play, effective management of the world anti-doping system and proportionate representation in WADA's executive branch, commensurate with the financial contribution of United States, "he continues.

The ONDCP calls on WADA to reform its governance by including independent athletes and anti-doping representatives in its steering committees, in order to avoid "any undue influence from sports organizations having a direct financial interest in its decisions".

"This can be accomplished by reducing the number of representatives of sports organizations in the various current governance positions or in sports organizations that are members of the steering committees," suggests the body.

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), which pushed for this report, has long criticized the governance structure of WADA, wondering if the organization can function independently with so many officials from sports federations and members of the International Olympic Committee, who she said wielded influence within WADA.

"The power to reduce or suspend funding is a powerful weapon that could prompt WADA to adopt reforms to achieve the objectives for which it was created and prevent recurrences similar to that of Russian doping from recurring", concludes the report.

© 2020 AFP