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Leagues and Governing Bodies

WADA Accused Of Being 'Played' After Russia Misses Deadline

WADA has been accused of being "played by the Russians" and called a "total joke" after it confirmed it had not retrieved or received "crucial doping data" from the Moscow laboratory by its Dec. 31 deadline, according to Sean Ingle of the London GUARDIAN. WADA President Craig Reedie, who had been "confident" the data would be collected a few weeks ago, admitted he was "bitterly disappointed" at the news that one of WADA's "strict conditions," set when it "controversially lifted" the three-year suspension on the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) in September "despite enormous anger" from anti-doping groups and athletes, had not been met. Yet it had been "on the cards" since before Christmas after WADA’s team of experts, led by Dr. José Antonio Pascual, "left Moscow empty-handed" having failed to access the underlying data from the laboratory. The "sticking point" was a row over the specialist IT equipment WADA was using to extract data, which some reports "have suggested had been wiped." However, U.S. Anti-Doping CEO Travis Tygart blamed WADA for "being soft on Russia" and for having "concocted a secret deal" with the country's authorities in September to let RUSADA back in. He said, "The situation is a total joke and an embarrassment for WADA and the global anti-doping system" (GUARDIAN, 1/1). INSIDE THE GAMES' Duncan Mackay reported IOC President Thomas Bach signaled that Russia will not be banned from Tokyo 2020 "even if a suspension is reimposed" on RUSADA. Access to the Moscow lab before Dec. 31 was a "compulsory condition" set when the WADA Exec Committee controversially lifted the suspension of RUSADA on Sept. 20. Bach claimed that the Russian Olympic Committee has "already been punished enough" after a report commissioned by WADA claimed Russia had been involved in state-sponsored doping. Bach said, "In PyeongChang, we sanctioned the systematic manipulation of the anti-doping system in Russia during the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014. The IOC sanctioned those entities involved, proportional to their levels of responsibility. At the same time, we upheld the principle of individual justice to which every human being is entitled. ... With its suspension from the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, the Russian Olympic Committee has served its sanction, while in other organizations procedures are still ongoing" (INSIDE THE GAMES, 1/1). In Dublin, Johnny Watterson reported Sport Ireland CEO John Treacy criticized Bach, saying that his remarks are "deeply unhelpful" and that the IOC is "out of touch" with anti-doping sentiments. Treacy's rebuke arrived in the wake of Bach signaling that Russia will not be banned from Tokyo 2020 even if a suspension is re-imposed on RUSADA. Treacy said, "Comments made yesterday by the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, which are extremely unhelpful, demonstrate why the IC are out of touch with athletes. The comments also underline why the IOC should not be involved in the decision making when it comes to matters of anti-doping" (IRISH TIMES, 1/2).

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