Closed mode, video calls and a decision before the end of the year: how the RUSADA v WADA trial proceeded

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne announced the end of the hearings in the case of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The proceedings lasted from 2 to 5 November.

Now Judges Mark Williams from Australia, Luigi Fumagalli from Italy and Hamid Garavi from France must hold a meeting and decide whether WADA has the right to recognize RUSADA's activities as not complying with the anti-doping code.

If the court takes the side of WADA, Russian athletes will not be able to take part in major competitions under the flag of their country for the next four years, and the Russian Federation will not be able to host international sports events.

The CAS noted that they cannot name the exact timing of the decision, but it is expected that the parties will be informed of it before the end of this year.

The process with the participation of RUSADA and WADA took place in the most closed mode.

The parties did not comment on the course of the hearings and did not hold media events.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the transport restrictions caused by its consequences, the hearings were held mainly in the format of video communication.

In addition to the plaintiffs and defendants, third parties took part in the litigation, including the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC).

The organizations believe that sanctions against RUSADA should not affect the right of athletes to participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games under the flag of their country.

RPC President Vladimir Lukin said that the judges were interested in issues related to the Moscow anti-doping laboratory, to which his organization had nothing to do.

“It was an ordinary hearing, they asked questions - answered questions.

Each party believes that its arguments are more convincing, and we, as a third party, believe that our arguments are more convincing.

But the court is the court ... Several people participated from the RPC.

We hope the decision will be favorable for us.

We believe that the RPC has absolutely nothing to do with the charges brought forward.

This is completely different, this is the relationship between RUSADA and WADA ... Punishing the RCC is the same as punishing Petrov for Ivanov hitting Sidorov in the face.

Moreover, it is not known whether he hit or not, "Lukin told TASS.

Russian athletes also took part in the process.

The agency's source said that there were three speakers, but he did not disclose their names.

One of the athletes gave testimony via video link from Tanzania, where he is currently on a missionary mission.

“The Q&A session lasted about half an hour.

The athletes were interested in whether skipping the Olympics or performing at it without a national flag would affect their moral and material condition, whether innocent athletes should be subject to collective responsibility, ”said the source.

The main participants in the hearings did not comment on their results in detail.

Mikhail Bukhanov, Acting Director General of RUSADA, noted that the judges will have to make a difficult decision and expressed the hope that it will be fair.

“The past four working days were quite difficult, it was hard to expect anything else.

I cannot disclose the details of the hearings, I can only say that our representatives have presented their arguments, now the arbitrators will face an incredibly difficult task.

The process has no analogues in history, and the decision on it, whatever it may be, will also become historical.

We hope that the arbitrators will take into account our arguments and make a fair decision, ”Bukhanov said.

WADA President Witold Banka said he was pleased with the way his organization performed at the hearings.

“WADA is satisfied with the position we have presented, and now we are awaiting the decision of the panel of arbitrators.

As at any other stage, we adhere to the proper procedure in relation to the RUSADA compliance status case, while continuing to act effectively within the framework of this difficult issue, ”said Banka.

The hearings were accompanied by information injections directed against the Russian side.

So, on the first day of the court session, the Evening Standard newspaper published an interview with WADA informant Yulia Stepanova, whose testimony began the doping scandal in 2014.

The former athlete who moved to the United States said she was afraid to return to her homeland because of fears for her life.

The same newspaper then published the comments of the former director of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov, also hiding in the United States.

According to him, WADA should double the punishment for Russian athletes.

“Russia deserves an eight-year suspension.

With such a flawed management system in sports, Russian fraudsters will again be able to avoid appropriate sanctions and punishments, and then somehow compete at the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year.

If this happens, the level of confidence in the fight against doping will fall even lower, no matter how difficult it is to imagine, ”said Rodchenkov.