The doping case of Kamila Valieva has finally moved forward.
On January 13, WADA announced that it had received a relevant decision from the RUSADA Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee.
Recall that earlier the Russian side refused to make public the results of the proceedings due to the fact that Valieva was a minor at the time of sampling, but WADA did not support this position.
As noted in a press release, ADC members concluded that the athlete, although she violated the anti-doping rules, was not at fault.
“Therefore, the committee has not imposed any sanctions, except for the annulment of her results as of the date of sampling (December 25, 2021),” WADA said in a statement.
The international agency stressed that they have already requested a copy of the full reasoned decision, which will be considered along with the case file to determine whether the verdict complies with the provisions of the World Anti-Doping Code.
“However, based on the elements of the case with which WADA is already familiar, the agency is concerned about the conclusion of “no fault or negligence” and will not hesitate to exercise its right to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, depending on the situation,” TASS quotes the text of the document.
RUSADA also declared its right to appeal, because DAK is an independent body from the agency that made its own decision.
The full text of the conclusions of the committee, according to the head of the agency Veronika Loginova, has not yet been received there either.
“We will conduct a legal assessment of the rationale for the decision made by the committee.
After reviewing the motivational part <...> RUSADA will consider the possibility of appealing it.
We expect to receive the full text of the decision in the near future and without any delay," TASS quoted Loginova as saying.
Based on what is stated in the press release, it becomes clear that Valieva will be deprived of the title of champion of Russia - 2022, because it was on the day of the free program at the tournament in St. Petersburg that the ill-fated sample was taken.
Alexandra Trusova, who took second place, will be declared the winner.
“After the decision of the Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee, Trusova automatically becomes the winner of the Russian pre-Olympic championship.
And she will be at least until the end of all appeal procedures, if claims for the decision of the DAK come to CAS from WADA, ISU (International Skating Union) or RUSADA.
The decision of the Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee can only be challenged in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, since Valieva is an international athlete.
The deadline for filing an appeal is 21 days after the receipt of a reasoned decision by all parties, ”sports lawyer Anna Antseliovich explained to TASS.
It is worth noting that on the day the DAK verdict was announced, Valieva immediately removed the national champion title from her profile description on social networks.
Meanwhile, experts do not expect the figure skater's case to be closed on this.
It is more than likely that WADA will challenge the Russian woman's acquittal at CAS.
At the same time, according to Antseliovich, the agency will have to withdraw its previous appeal, filed in November.
In it, the absence of any verdict from RUSADA itself was appealed, and the most severe punishment for the skater was requested: WADA demanded that she be disqualified for four years, and also cancel all the results from the moment the sample was taken.
“As I understand it, that appeal will end, and now they will consider the possibility of filing an appeal with CAS against a new decision.
We do not know when they received the full package and whether they received it.
But after receiving it, WADA has 21 days, during which they will consider the full package, see if there are grounds for applying the concept of absence of fault and negligence or there are no such grounds, and then they will decide whether to go to CAS to appeal this decision.” , - quotes Antseliovich "Championship".
Western sports functionaries were quick to express their disagreement with Valieva's justification.
Thus, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency, Travis Tygart, called the decision biased, and also accused RUSADA of participating in hiding doping violations in the country for many years.
“The world cannot accept this self-serving decision.
Justice requires full, impartial, public hearings outside of Russia, ”the CNN official quotes.
According to Olympic champion Svetlana Zhurova, all parties concerned understand that the fate of Valieva - as well as Olympic medals in team competitions - will be decided in court.
“But, if before we could be defended by foreign lawyers and this led to good results, now it will be more difficult - many of them were forbidden to do this.
On the other hand, it is important that the disciplinary committee made just such a decision.
The position is clear, and it is formulated on an evidence base.
Further, most likely, this will be considered by WADA, and we understand that they will try to win back this situation in their own way, ”the State Duma deputy emphasized.
In turn, her colleague Dmitry Svishchev expressed confidence that a seriously supported motivational decision was behind the decision of the DAC.
“And in CAS, such a professional organization as RUSADA will have to have a serious legal position,” the parliamentarian added.
Three-time Olympic champion Irina Rodnina called the outcome of RUSADA proceedings good news, but urged patience and wait for final decisions.
“We all said that in the situation in which Valieva found herself, she was innocent.
And if there were any complaints about the doping test, then this is the responsibility of the coach, doctor and parents.
Let's wait for further decisions.
And then we’ll see if our guys will be given Olympic medals, ”the Match TV quotes the former figure skater.