The Executive Committee of the International Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) approved today, Monday, the suspension of Russia for four years from participating in international sports competitions, including the Olympic Games, against the backdrop of manipulating doping test data, in the latest chapters of the scandal that rocked sports for years.

At its meeting in the Swiss city of Lausanne, the committee unanimously endorsed a recommendation from the WADA Compliance Review Committee, in which it called for Russia to stop four years from participating in international activities including the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

The move, which was considered by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency "Rosada" as a "tragedy" for the Russian athletes who did not reach the stubbornness of activation.

The punishment includes the failure to raise the Russian flag and play the national anthem during the Olympic and international sports competitions, while opening the way for the participation of Russian athletes who proved their "cleanliness", under a neutral banner, as was done during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.