Not without politics: World Athletics restored the VFLA, but athletes will still not be able to participate in tournaments

The All-Russian Athletics Federation has regained its full status in the International Association of Athletics Federations after more than seven years since the beginning of the suspension. The decision was made by the World Athletics Council in accordance with the recommendation of the working group on the issue of restoration, headed by Rune Andersen.

"An independent audit found that all the main indicators were achieved. The VFLA also accepted the fact that there should be no rollback from this new position," the expert said.

As you know, the federation has been restricted in rights since 2015 amid a doping scandal. During this time, the issue of lifting the disqualification was raised more than 15 times, but was not resolved positively. Moreover, when in the summer of 2020, the VFLA could not pay the fine on time in the case of jumper Danil Lysenko due to the recognition of the medical certificate as falsified, it was on the verge of complete exclusion.

Then World Athletics suspended the process of issuing neutral status to Russian athletes and work on the return of membership. And only in March 2021, when the updated roadmap was approved, Russian athletes were again allowed to compete. All the points of this map were made by the Russian side last March, but the process of restoring the status stretched for another year.

But now this long road is over, and the VFLA has once again become an equal member of World Athletics, although it will be under enhanced monitoring. So, it will be among the federations with more stringent requirements for doping control, and will also have to comply with a set of 35 "special conditions" that are designed to ensure that anti-doping reforms remain in force and continue to work effectively.

"The focus is on four areas: good organizational governance, protection against undue external influence or control, operational capabilities and capacity (with particular emphasis on ethical and anti-doping requirements and changes in the regions), and budget allocation and financial management," WA said in a statement on its official website.

Compliance with these conditions will be monitored by the Athletics Integrity Unit, and its work will have to be paid by the VFLA. After three years, WA will decide whether to extend them or not.

As the President of the VFLA Pyotr Ivanov emphasized, many years of work on returning to World Athletics have been completed, and the difficult, painstaking work of Russian sports functionaries was assessed positively.

"We will continue to pursue a tough anti-doping policy to meet all international requirements. The issues of the sports and anti-doping component of the federation's work meet international requirements, which is enshrined today by the decisions of the WA Council, "the official website of the federation quotes Ivanov as saying.

Of course, the restoration of the rights of the VFLA is an important, if not to say epoch-making event. As the First Vice-President of the VFLA Irina Privalova noted, the federation fulfilled the primary task at the moment, and World Athletics showed a certain courage in making this fundamental decision. However, there is another side to the issue. Due to the situation in Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials will still not be allowed to participate in the competitions, which are held under the auspices of WA. The federations of the two countries are forbidden to hold international tournaments, and their representatives are forbidden to attend, speak and vote at meetings of the Congress. These measures are indefinite.

"Athletes and officials representing Russia and Belarus remain suspended from competition for the foreseeable future due to the invasion of Ukraine," said Sebastian Coe, head of World Athletics.

He also said that in the coming weeks a working group will be created on the issue of admission of Russians and Belarusians to the starts, but made it clear that they should not count on a quick return. Even taking into account the recent speeches of Thomas Bach, who said that sport should not become a tool in the struggle of officials, and the International Olympic Committee should not become a judge in political disputes.

"There will be enough opportunities [to discuss this topic]. But I think that here, perhaps, the conclusion can be drawn as follows: the IOC has no doubts about my position on this issue, "the head of WA emphasized.

In addition, Coe recalled that the final decision on the formation of the application for the Olympics remains with the international federation, and, in his opinion, at the moment it is impossible to talk about the fact that Russian athletes will be admitted to the Games in Paris.

"Based on what we know now, we're very clear that this is an inopportune moment," Coe said.

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin welcomed the restoration of the status of the VFLA, stressing that taking into account all the work carried out at different levels, it was difficult to expect a different decision. According to him, Russia has created a stable system to combat doping at all levels and continues to form a culture of clean sport among athletes, coaches and specialists. At the same time, the functionary stressed that it is impossible to agree with the second, political, part of the verdict.

"Nevertheless, the suspension of athletes from participation in international competitions continues to operate. We consider these politicized restrictions unacceptable, especially in the context of Thomas Bach's recent speech against political influence on sports. The Olympic Games should remain neutral, and international federations should give the right to all the strongest athletes in their sport to compete," Matytsin emphasized.

In turn, State Duma Deputy Svetlana Zhurova noted: the fact that the "doping history" of the VFLA is over is a big step forward, despite the political circumstances.

"What is happening with Russian sports is happening in every federation. Athletics will definitely not be an exception, perhaps it will be the last international federation that will coordinate our performances, "the Olympic champion concluded.