Formula 1 execs have admitted for the first time that they are "concerned" that an activist who protested against the Bahrain Grand Prix on Facebook was jailed for three years by the country's authorities. F1 has "traditionally been reluctant to intervene on politics and human rights cases but has made a rare exception" in the case of Najah Ahmed Yusuf, who claims she was beaten, sexually abused and imprisoned following a series of posts in April '17 that were critical of the race and the regime (London GUARDIAN, 11/14).
The Rugby League Players Association "welcomed the possibility" of a National Rugby League transfer window but "wants proof of its viability before giving it the tick of approval." The NRL on Wednesday revealed it was "looking into shaking up its player market system" with the introduction of up to two transfer periods by as early as the '20 season. A working group will be set up to sort out the details of the concept, which "could lead to NRL clubs confirming player signings only during allocated windows" (AAP, 11/16).
WADA President Craig Reedie said that he was "confident" Russia will not miss a year-end deadline to hand over data from its suspended laboratory, a condition for the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) to stay accredited. RUSADA was conditionally reinstated in September, but WADA said that "failures to release full data from the Moscow lab by Dec. 31 could result in another suspension." RUSADA Dir Yuri Ganus said last week that he was worried that Russian judicial authorities "could hinder the release" of the data (REUTERS, 11/15).
WADA said on Thursday that Nigeria's national anti-doping agency was "declared non-compliant." WADA Independent Compliance Review Committee Chair Jonathan Taylor informed the board at a meeting in Baku that the Nigerian agency did not meet int'l anti-doping standards (REUTERS, 11/15).
