The legislation of Russia in the field of physical culture and sports needs to be changed in order to comply with the provisions of the updated World Anti-Doping Code.

This conclusion was reached by the participants of the round table held in the relevant committee of the State Duma.

As you know, at the end of November, the head of WADA, Vitold Banka, said that RUSADA's membership in the organization could not be restored due to the fact that its code, as amended in 2021, was not fully integrated into Russian laws.

This remark was made based on the results of an independent audit, which took place online in September.

According to the director general of the agency, Veronika Loginova, it was a surprise for the Russian side that the inconsistency of the legislation with the code became a critical remark directly to RUSADA.

In this case, "critical" means that it interferes with recovery and should be fixed as soon as possible.

“But neither according to the charter, nor according to any other document, the agency has the right to legislative activity.

There are authorized structures and people for this,” Loginova emphasized.

In this regard, RUSADA expressed disagreement with the audit conclusion and, in accordance with the international standard for compliance, referred the dispute to WADA management.

If after consideration of the case the remark of the auditors remains in force, it will be transferred to the compliance committee of the international agency.

“And then a rather long procedure, which will end in CAS.

This is a very long process that will most likely end not even next year.

And this path, of course, makes us very sad, because we are doing everything possible to restore the organization as quickly as possible, ”said RUSADA General Director.

Complicating the situation is the fact that very little time was given to eliminate RUSADA's remarks - the deadline is set until January 7.

In this regard, the head of the national anti-doping agency called on the State Duma deputies to consider the possibility of amending the law "On Physical Culture and Sports in the Russian Federation" as soon as possible in order to bring it into line with the WADA code.

However, the Deputy Minister of Sports of the country, Odes Baysultanov, noted that such a process cannot be completed "in one day" at anyone's request.

“I want to emphasize that neither the government of the Russian Federation, nor the Ministry of Sports, nor any other executive body are signatories of the WADA code.

The government is bound by the requirements of the UNESCO and Council of Europe anti-doping conventions.

The WADA Code cannot be used as an instrument of pressure on the state; it does not establish legal obligations for the country.

Therefore, I believe that it is necessary to calmly, within the framework of the regulations and standards of Russia, make the changes that we consider necessary, without any hysteria, ”the official said.

According to the Deputy Secretary General of the Russian Olympic Committee Viktor Berezov, there is no need for special haste: the process can take place in parallel with the proceedings at CAS.

Simply, if the legislation is brought into line with the code before the arbitration decision is made, the subject of the claim will disappear by itself and there will be no reason to refuse to restore RUSADA.

In turn, Alexandra Brilliantova, head of the legal department of the ROC, stressed that, as a lawyer, she sees no obstacles to adjusting the legislative framework, since the required changes do not contradict the concept of the humanitarian policy of the Russian Federation.

“The introduction of these amendments at the legislative level will be another evidence that Russia adheres to the position of zero tolerance for doping, and our sports organizations do not deviate a single step from the implementation of CAS decisions.

Only in this way can we return the national Russian flag and anthem to our sport and the right to compete in international competitions, ”the specialist said.

Loginova also expressed the opinion that even the initial steps of the State Duma to introduce amendments could have a positive impact on the outcome of the consideration of the case in WADA structures and not lead to trials in court.

“On January 7th, I have to voice our position.

I will still defend the point of view that this requirement is unfair, but if at the same time I report on the work already underway on the changes, I am sure that this will be an additional plus.

As already mentioned, these two processes can be parallel,” said the head of RUSADA.

She also answered the question of whether there is a chance to restore the agency's rights if this WADA comment is completely ignored.

“I think it's 50/50. We can either win or lose this trial.

But we will definitely lose another year, because the dispute has not yet passed even the first stage.

As written in the Compliance Standard, all signatories must have legislation in place that allows the code to be implemented.

But there is such an explanation - if it is a means of implementation.

Our remedy is the Russian anti-doping rules.

I believe that RUSADA should not be held responsible for the inconsistency of the legislation,” Loginova said during the meeting.

The President of the Russian Ski Racing Federation Elena Vyalbe, as well as the head of the Russian Biathlon Union Viktor Maigurov, spoke in favor of making changes.

“We all row in the same boat, and it would be nice to row the oars in one direction.

There is safety in numbers.

When there were any problems, they solved them together.

Now we cannot be 100% sure of anything, but we need to do it in such a way that no one can find fault with us.

And don't think it's shameful.

The main thing is that now the Duma has accelerated, ”said the three-time Olympic champion.

Following the meeting, Dmitry Svishchev, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, stressed that the decision to make amendments, if necessary, would be made in the coming days.

“We believe that the restoration of RUSADA is necessary, first of all, for Russian athletes.

It is impossible to restore Russian sports without the full participation of RUSADA in the work of WADA,” the parliamentarian concluded.