WADA is disappointed but powerless against the court’s decision.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) left Russian athletes without national symbols for two whole years. The decision, unprecedented in its rigidity, has led to significant restrictions for our sport, but even the most unpleasant things tend to end someday.
WADA really didn’t want the suspension to end, but still had to accept defeat.
The organization cannot ban the flag and anthem of Russia!
Adapting to Constraints
On December 17, 2022, sanctions against Russian sports ended, due to which our athletes were not able to compete at the World Championships and the Olympic Games with national symbols, and the country could not host (except in exceptional cases) world-class international tournaments. It is for this reason that the fans watched the ROC teams in Tokyo and Beijing without a flag and an anthem, and at the world championships the Russians performed under the auspices of the national federations.
Another set of problems at the international level for Russian sports arose after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recognized the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) as non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code in December 2019. As a punishment, Russian sports expected a four-year ban, however, through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it was possible to reduce the suspension period to two years. The sanctions took effect immediately after the final verdict was issued, in December 2020.
The restrictions did not lead to the fact that the Russians were completely isolated from international sports. The bans did not apply, for example, to European championships, World Cup stages, youth and youth championships – at these tournaments, our athletes performed with a flag and an anthem. And if the competitions were planned in Russia, then no one in WADA even thought to resent the fact of their holding, if it did not concern the world championships.
In fact, even with the world championships during the period of suspension, it was possible to find compromise solutions, since the CAS verdict allowed for the option of holding tournaments if international federations find it difficult to find a replacement. In 2021, Moscow hosted the World Beach Soccer Championship, where the RFU team won.
In other words, we managed to adapt to the new realities. But still, it was a shame to watch how our skiers, gymnasts, swimmers, figure skaters and other athletes shone at the Olympic Games, but did not have the opportunity to enjoy the victories to the sound of the Russian anthem.
“Must comply with CAS decision”
The end of all this disgrace with the absence of national symbols was expected on December 17, 2022 – if you follow the letter of the law. However, having an idea of how international structures around sports, if necessary, find ways to punish Russian sports, they did not fully believe that WADA would calmly put up with Russia’s return to the international arena.
Not long before the known date, there were hints in the media that the organization was dissatisfied with the anti-doping legislation in our country. It seemed that a new batch of accusations was about to appear. However, so far all these fears have not materialized – WADA really cannot do anything about the current situation.
— The CAS decision is clear and self-explanatory. The CAS sanctions will automatically expire on December 17th. There is nothing in the rules that would allow WADA to extend these consequences beyond this date. We remain disappointed that the CAS did not approve our proposed set of sanctions, which included a four-year suspension. Everyone knew this day would come. For us, this is happening too early, but CAS has made its decision, and, like all other interested parties, we must comply with it,” Match TV said in WADA.
Thus, we can state that the World Anti-Doping Agency is not able to somehow prevent Russia from returning to the world stage, although even the tone of the official statement gives the impression that the organization is suffering greatly because of this fact.
In the near future, the process of restoring RUSADA will begin, and it is probably not worth counting on it to be easy and hassle-free. WADA may try to find reasons to delay the issue of recognizing the compliance of our national anti-doping organization with international standards. So far, the key date here is January 7, 2023. By this date, all the shortcomings that now exist should be eliminated.
New hard limits
The restoration of RUSADA may be delayed, but this should have nothing to do with the restrictions for our athletes. The punishment in the form of a ban on national symbols at international tournaments has come to an end and somehow it can no longer be extended or renewed. The last word was left to CAS, which limited everything to two years. And if WADA still wants to create new problems for Russia, then international anti-doping fighters will have to come up with another reason.
Unfortunately, a pleasant moment for our entire sport will not lead to the fact that tomorrow we will see Russian athletes at international competitions. And if one of them performs abroad, he will not hear the national anthem and will not see the flag. The problem lies with the International Olympic Committee and sports federations, which introduced new, even tighter restrictions in the spring of 2022. Russians are forbidden to participate in almost any international competitions with national symbols, and the country itself cannot host tournaments under the auspices of the IOC and federations.
It is not clear when this ban, which reeks of politics and ethnic discrimination, will end. After all, the formal reason for the ban was not a court decision, but only the recommendation of the head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, which, oddly enough, almost all international sports federations began to unquestioningly comply with.
Theoretically, all these bans can be lifted everywhere even tomorrow, if the president of the International Olympic Committee makes a statement to that effect. If such a statement is not followed, the federations can privately decide on the restoration of Russian sports in rights.
Something like this was done in the International Boxing Association (IBA), allowing Russia to participate in all its tournaments with a flag and an anthem, with the exception of the world championships. Now that the WADA sanctions are no longer in effect, our boxers will also be able to participate in the world championships, and if they win, they will hear the anthem to the music of Alexandrov and see the heart-pleasing tricolor under the arches of the arena.
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