WADA decision on RUSADA and potential consequences for the IOF (updated)

This article has been updated following IOF participation in a WADA conference call, on December 13th, giving additional details about the CRC recommendations and process for implementation.

On December 9th, the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) Executive Committee (ExCo) unanimously endorsed the recommendation made by the independent Compliance Review Committee (CRC) that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) be declared non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code (Code) for a period of four years.

RUSADA now has 21 days to respond to the decision on non-compliance. either accepting or appealing the decision. This means that the recommendations are not yet valid for implementation. No exact time for the validity of the recommendations can yet be set as this will depend on any potential appeals and process at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). 

The 26-page CRC recommendation outlines both facts and series of consequences considering Russian Government officials/representatives, Russia as host for Major Events, the Russian flag, officials/representatives of the Russian Olympic Committee and Russian athletes and their support personnel.

CRC recommendation in relation to RUSADA

The IOF Council will discuss the various parts of  the CRC recommendation at its meeting January 10-11 and how this may affect the organisation by, and participation of, Russia at IOF Major Events. Council will communicate its decisions regarding this in connection with the meeting.

For information, the IOF has three upcoming European Championships events appointed to Russia:

European Ski Orienteering Championships 2020
European Orienteering Championships 2021
European MTB Orienteering Championships 2021

It should be noted that regional championships are not affected by the recommendations of the WADA CRC, the recommendations only relate to World Championships, but Council will discuss if any of these events should be affected by the recommendations.