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The wave of anger over the halved sentence for Russia's doping fraud is putting the sports judges and the IOC in a mess.
Athlete associations and leading doping hunters castigated the mild verdict as a miscarriage of justice and called for reforms in the fight against manipulation.
The Cas slogan marks “another dark day for clean sport”, ranted the sports alliance “Global Athlete”.
The German Olympic Sports Confederation warned that the concrete implementation of the two-year ban had to be clarified "as quickly as possible" by international associations and the IOC and warned against another "hanging game" like before the summer games in Rio 2016.
Back then, despite evidence of a state-sponsored doping system, the International Olympic Committee paved the way for a Russian team to participate in a chaotic trial.
According to the Cas, Russia may not compete with its own team at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 and in Beijing in 2022 and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, its flag may not be hoisted, its anthem may not be played.
The IOC said in a tight-lipped manner that the verdict will be “carefully examined”.
Fifa followed on Friday.
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The top US doping investigator Travis Tygart has long since come to an assessment of the Solomonic arbitration award.
This is a "catastrophic blow for clean athletes, the integrity of sport and the rule of law," said the head of the American anti-doping agency Usada.
The world agency Wada and the IOC had "once again put politics above principle" when dealing with the Russia case, grumbled Tygart.
Russians are allowed to participate as neutral athletes
Because the Cas initially did not publish its 186-page reasons for the judgment, critics again accused the committee of a lack of transparency.
But the judge's verdict, summarized on five pages, opened a number of loopholes for Russia.
The powerful Olympic and Paralympic Committee of the USA was therefore disappointed with "elements of the judgment that significantly weaken these sanctions".
Russian athletes are allowed to compete as neutral athletes in the Olympics and World Championships if they are not suspected of doping.
The burden of proof was reversed: it is not the athletes who have to prove that they were not involved in the doping system, but the Wada.
"That is perhaps our most important victory", wrote the newspaper "Sport-Express".
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Officials and government representatives of Russia are allowed to sit in the stands despite the two-year ban if they are officially invited by the respective hosts.
Although the country is not allowed to host world sporting events for two years, the European Football Championship games in St. Petersburg and the Formula 1 race in Sochi are not covered by this regulation and may take place.
And Russian flags can continue to fly in the stands at the Olympics.
The attorney for the key witness expresses incomprehension
“When Russians are on the top step of the podium everyone will know they are Russians.
And many athletes will probably sing the anthem, ”the Russian news agency Tass quoted the synchronized swimming coach Tatiana Pokrovskaya as saying.
The interim head of the national anti-doping agency Rusada, Mikhail Buchanov, spoke of a "victory for Russia".
The lawyer of the key witness Grigori Rodschenkow, who had started the affair, sees in the judgment evidence that the anti-doping system protects countries more than athletes.
"I don't see how that in any way prevents other countries from participating in this type of fraud," said lawyer Jim Walden.
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The athletes' alliance "Athleten Deutschland" renewed its appeal for an "effective and watertight system of international sports jurisdiction so that state-controlled doping can be severely punished".
A number of athletes' associations and national anti-doping agencies feel encouraged in their call for new structures at Wada and Cas.
They want more say for independent athletes, a clearer separation between the IOC, associations and sports justice as well as the anchoring of fundamental rights for athletes in the guidelines for the work of the Wada.
"The institutions that are tasked with observing the principles of fairness and integrity in sport are demonstrably compromised and incapable of making a principled decision at any time," stated the "Global Athlete" association.
The Kremlin in Moscow, however, as expected, received the decision with regret.
It is good that Russian athletes can at least take part in the Olympic Games under a neutral flag, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov on Friday, according to agencies in Moscow.
He criticized, however, that Russian government representatives - and thus also President Vladimir Putin - are not allowed as guests at the Olympic Games or World Championships.
"Of course we see that negatively," said Peskow.
However, Putin can participate as a guest if he is officially invited by the host country.