“There was no such harsh punishment in the history of sports”: how Russia reacted to possible sanctions by WADA

“It will be bad or very bad”

Russian sport again faced a serious threat of isolation after a special committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recommended depriving the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) of compliance status. Experts have found discrepancies between the data of the Moscow laboratory, obtained in January 2019, and their more recent versions. The final decision will be made on December 9 at a meeting of the WADA executive committee, but now many experts have expressed concern about the current situation.

The most serious consequence may be the inadmissibility of the country to participate in major international competitions. At the same time, athletes who have proven their innocence in frauds with doping tests will be able to take part in starts only under a neutral flag.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged not to draw hasty conclusions from the statement of the WADA committee.

“We will uphold the need for an honest discussion on any issue, including from the point of view of ensuring equal treatment of the behavior of each country in the international arena. It’s not possible that one or two - say, Russia and China - are to blame for everything and violate everything, and everyone else lives by the rules that they themselves wrote, without asking anyone else, and force all others to respect these rules, ”said Lavrov.

In turn, the president of the Water Polo Federation of Russia, the Russian Federation of Diving, the Federation of Synchronized Swimming of Russia Alexey Vlasenko regretted that the efforts of sports diplomats and lawyers who tried to establish relations between Russia and international organizations were unsuccessful.

“Much has been said that it will not come to extreme measures that there is no talk of missing the Olympics. Now such recommendations are very sad and negative news for us. We still have to wait until December 9, but all this is very bad, especially the year before the Games, ”RIA Novosti quoted Vlasenko as saying.

The head of the Russian Fencing Federation (FFR) Alexander Mikhailov called on all sports organizations in the country to prepare for the worst-case scenario. He emphasized that the deprivation of status should in no way affect the preparation of athletes for the Olympic Games, and also assured that his charges in any case will go to the start.

“Of course, you can give up and don’t get ready, say that we will not go to the Olympics, nor to the next European and World Championships, but that's another story. This should not be done, I believe that we need to continue to work and defend the honor of our country under these flags, ”TASS quoted Mikhailov as saying.

Earlier, the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation provided WADA with a letter explaining the discrepancies. The head of the department, Pavel Kolobkov, believes that the compliance committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency has not heard the position of Russian experts.

“Yesterday, the recommendations of the compliance committee were formally received. They are based on the analysis, which, in turn, was based on the findings of experts from the University of Lausanne. Our experts representing Russian institutions met with them and discussed all issues related to this report. Unfortunately, the position of our experts was not heard and these recommendations were adopted, ”says Kolobkov.

However, as suggested by RUSADA Director General Yuri Ganus, Russian specialists could not give a “reasonable and acceptable explanation”.

“Apparently, these explanations were not, because they were not accepted. That was the key. Now it’s too late to say anything. There are no legal grounds for challenging the deprivation of conformity. I’m talking about this soberly and with understanding, ”said Ganus.

At the same time, some experts expressed confidence that the WADA executive committee would not apply the most severe sanctions to Russia. So, according to the head of the Russian Curling Federation (FCR) Dmitry Svishchev, the agency is under tremendous pressure from the media, but this will not prevent him from making a fair decision.

“But the punishment will be unequivocal. RUSADA will be removed, followed by pressure on the issue of international competitions in the territory of the Russian Federation. Those international federations where the leaders are more powerful, of course, will not pay much attention to it, because Russia is a huge market, one of the countries that set the trend for sports, and competitions will be held in our country, ”RIA Novosti quoted Svishchev as saying.

A similar point of view is shared by the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs Valery Gazzayev.

“If we talk about the recommendations of the WADA committee, in particular about the possible suspension of participation in competitions for four years, I’ll first note that in the history of sports there was no such harsh punishment in relation to any country. Especially a country that is one of the world's leading sports powers, ”said Gazzaev.

The well-known television commentator Dmitry Guberniev did not stay away from what was happening. He suggested that in this situation, the Russian side will only be helped by refraining from hushing up the existing problems.

“It will be bad or very bad, December 9th is the moment of truth. Then we will appeal and so on. But now one thing is clear. Athletes with a doping background will not go anywhere at all. And only a complete atmosphere of openness can facilitate their existence. Sasha Loginov, remember this when you pass by journalists, ”the journalist wrote in his Telegram channel.

“WADA decisions have nothing to do with football”

Another important point of the recommendations of the compliance committee is a four-year ban on international competitions. For the same period, Russia may lose the right to apply for all subsequent tournaments. In this case, the matches of the 2020 European Championship, which will be held in St. Petersburg, may be sanctioned.

However, the general director of the organizing committee, Alexei Sorokin, assured that at the moment there are no prerequisites for this. He emphasized that the championship is held under the auspices of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which will take the appropriate decisions.

“It’s difficult for me to allow or not allow the possibility of depriving Russia of the right to host Euro 2020 matches. We can contrast what is happening only with our work in preparation for the tournament. As far as we hear from our UEFA colleagues, they are quite satisfied, ”Sorokin said.

His words were confirmed by the Honorary President of the Russian Football Union (RFU) Vyacheslav Koloskov.

“Decisions taken by the WADA executive committee on December 9 have nothing to do with football. FIFA and UEFA have their own medical committees, their own doping service and their own accredited laboratory, the entire database of our players. In accordance with the regulations at all competitions, at every match held under the auspices of organizations, including the club, doping control is mandatory, ”the functionary explained.

Another major sporting event for Russia will be the Summer Universiade of 2023, which will be held in Yekaterinburg. The President of the Russian Student Sports Union (RCCC) Sergei Seyranov said that the WADA decision will not affect the conduct of these competitions.

“Student sport has not stained itself. According to the latest WADA data, over the past two years, out of a huge number of samples taken from athletes from all over the world at the European Championships, Universiades. only 0.34% were positive. So there is no fear, everything is going according to plan, Yekaterinburg is preparing for the competition, ”said Seyranov.

At the same time, according to Mikhailov, by isolating Russian sport from the rest of the world, WADA will deliver an irreparable blow to the entire international community, since not all countries are able to host high-level competitions.

“Finding a candidate for the World Cup or Europe is extremely difficult, because these are critical financial resources. And I know that sometimes a country refuses fencing from the World Cup stage, then we have to urgently seek a replacement and help in holding such an event, ”concluded the head of the FFR.

“The international sports community is radical”

After the decision, Russia will have 21 days to appeal it. Opinions regarding the appropriateness of this step were also divided. So, Ganus emphasized that it would be fair if Russia was punished.

“I believe that you need to take a sober look at the world and the current situation. It can be stated that the sports authorities did not do everything that they could do. Their experts did not substantiate the changes in the electronic database. Accordingly, I do not understand on the basis of which the decision can be challenged, ”said the head of RUSADA.

In turn, Svishchev is sure that the sports authorities will need to go to court regardless of the decision made, since the Russian side has fulfilled all the requirements for a full restoration of its status.

“We must listen to the opinion of the IOC. Thomas Bach previously said clean athletes should perform. We have no right to punish officials and other athletes not involved in violations, ”the deputy is sure.

He added that in the event of the imposition of sanctions, the FCR intends to challenge the ban on holding competitions in court.

“This season we have planned the junior world championship in Krasnoyarsk. Money was spent on this. If a decision is made to deprive RUSADA of its compliance, we will dispute the holding of competitions in court, as we will incur financial losses, ”Svishchev noted.

Some experts have suggested what more distant consequences the sanctions would have. The First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs Vyacheslav Fetisov expressed concern for those who are only taking their first steps at a professional level.

“I worry about young athletes who have reached a serious level and may not be allowed because of someone else’s mistakes. There is minimal hope that WADA will make a different decision, but we are the most disgraced country in the history of world sports, and, apparently, the international sports community is radical, ”Fetisov suggested.