On Monday, November 14, CAS officially registered the World Anti-Doping Agency's appeal against RUSADA and Kamila Valieva.
In the future, the case will be considered in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In the document, WADA explained that RUSADA postponed the hearings on the Valieva case several times and, as a result, did not issue any verdict until the designated deadline (November 4).
After that, the organization, relying on Art.
15.3 of the National Anti-Doping Committee, was given the opportunity to apply to CAS on her own.
WADA demanded that the skater be punished as severely as possible: disqualify her for four years, and also cancel all results starting from December 25, 2021, when the girl received a positive test for trimetazidine during the national championship.
In this case, the Russians will lose the gold medals of the team tournament of the Olympic Games in Beijing, because Kamila was part of the team.
In the near future, the parties will determine the composition of the panel of arbitrators of three people.
One will be chosen by the plaintiff, the second by RUSADA and Valiev, and the third, the chairman, by the head of the CAS appeal department.
“Once appointed, the panel will issue a procedural guide for the next phase of the proceedings, including on the organization of hearings.
Following the hearing, the panel will discuss and present an award containing the award and the reasons for it.
At the moment, it is not possible to talk about the time frame for making such a decision, ”the statement says.
The side of the athlete has not yet commented on the transfer of the case to CAS.
However, Alexei Zheleznyakov, the choreographer of the Eteri Tutberidze group, in which Valieva is involved, emphasized that the court would not necessarily take the side of WADA, and urged to wait for the final verdict.
RUSADA did not add anything to the published document.
The head of the organization, Veronika Loginova, only noted that “everything is written very clearly” in the release.
President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation Alexander Gorshkov also declined to comment, since the FFKKR is not a party to the process, but expressed confidence in Valieva's innocence.
Chairman of the Committee on Physical Culture and Sports Dmitry Svishchev called the approach of the World Anti-Doping Agency formal.
According to him, the lawyers of the Russian woman will certainly find reasons to protect her from "unreasonable attacks", since there is no evidence base for guilt.
“Disqualification for four years and the annulment of the results at the Beijing Olympics is the most severe punishment.
It is not clear what WADA is guided by.
They can demand whatever they want, but there is still a regulation according to which certain instances must be passed.
Let me also remind you that Camila fell under protection for underage athletes, ”Match TV quotes the words of the deputy.
In turn, sports lawyer Anna Antseliovich stressed: WADA has requested a standard period of disqualification.
It could take into account extenuating circumstances, including minority, but for some reason did not do so.
“It is, of course, much easier for a protected person to get a reduction than for other athletes.
Apparently, the World Anti-Doping Agency found no reason to apply the article on the insignificance of the athlete’s fault or negligence on his part, ”the RT lawyer said.
She also refused to make predictions about the outcome of the case, stressing that everything would depend on what arguments Valieva's representatives would present at the meetings.
But the consideration itself, in her opinion, can pass quickly, since many parties are interested in this.
“And without that, for half a year now, the fate of the Olympic medals in the team tournament at the Olympic Games 2022 has been unclear.
In any case, CAS will be based on the agreement of the parties.
If they agree to an expedited trial, the court will go for it.
Sometimes, if major competitions are ahead, they manage to make a verdict within a few days.
But the standard period is several months,” Anceliovich added.
In Russia, the news about WADA's requirement to disqualify the athlete for four years was generally received without surprise.
So, the 2014 Olympic champion Maxim Maxaim Trankov admitted that it was hard to imagine otherwise.
“I think no one expected anything good.
It was clear that in the current situation, they would demand the maximum punishment for Valieva.
And the political component, unfortunately, played an important role, ”Trankov said in a comment to RT.
European champion - 2009 Sergey Novitsky agreed with him, but called the possible sanctions against the figure skater a frank bust.
“Of course, Camila's nationality matters.
If in her place a figure skater from a country now unfriendly to us, everything would have turned out a little differently, and the matter would most likely have been completely hushed up.
There is always hope.
That's when the verdict will be passed, then it will not remain.
Now Camila needs the support of the coaching staff, family and friends.
To some extent, this will help her mobilize,” Novitsky expressed hope.
He also advised Valieva not to lose her presence of mind.
The European champion stressed that there are still chances of at least a mitigation of punishment.
“It is difficult to say what decision CAS will make.
Now a lot will depend on our sports lawyers and on how they prepare for the hearing and what arguments they present.
They must find moments in favor of Kamila in order to resist injustice, ”added Novitsky.
And Maxaim Trankov believes that WADA and CAS sanctions may be bypassed, given the removal of Russians from international competitions.
No one has the right to ban Valieva from playing sports within the country.
“It remains to wait for the final verdict of CAS and not run ahead of the locomotive.
Let's solve problems as they come.
And there is always a chance (at least to reduce the period of disqualification), for this there is the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which will hear both sides, ”summed up the specialist.