Russian athletes are deprived of all

The IAAF threatens to ban them from performing at international tournaments even in neutral status.
07.03.2018
Kommersant
Origin source
Russian athletes may not be able to compete in international competitions, even in neutral status, and the All-Russian Athletics Federation (VFLA) risks being expelled from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). This was stated by the head of the IAAF working group on the restoration of the status of VFLA Rune Andersen. According to him, the extra-tough measures will be a reaction to the refusal of the VFLA, whose membership in the IAAF was suspended as early as 2015, to follow the "road map" to eliminate violations related to countering the use of doping. Given that the provisions of the road map contain absolutely unacceptable for the Russian side, it is very likely that the conflict will only worsen.

The All-Russian Athletics Federation risks losing membership in the IAAF. This was announced on Tuesday by the head of the working group of the international federation on the restoration of the status of VFLA, Rune Andersen, after the IAAF decided to extend the suspension of the Russian athletics federation.

If by July we do not see any progress, then at the next meeting of the IAAF council a decision can be made to ban Russians from participating in competitions even in neutral status, "Mr. Andersen said." In addition, the question of excluding VFLA from the IAAF members may be raised.

Mr. Andersen, listing the claims to the Russian side, noted that VFLA and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) still did not provide an anti-doping plan for 2018. However, a much more serious problem, Mr. Andersen noted, remains that the Russian authorities still did not recognize the existence of a system of state doping support that was allegedly disclosed by Richard McClaren, head of the independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) under the leadership of Samuel Schmid.

Note that the recognition of the functioning of the "institutional" doping system in Russia is also key in the list of WADA requirements for the restoration of RUSADA's rights. It is obvious that the Russian side can not take such a step. And if the international sports structures do not correct their position, then the restoration of VFLA and RUSADA in rights can take years.

"For us the main thing is not the number of participating athletes or the number of national federations, for us the main thing is for athletes to represent a reliable system that everyone trusts, this is our philosophy," said IAAF President Sebastian Coe. "No one is interested in this situation when we sit here and talk about the possible consequences. We have the criteria that were approved and the new leadership of VFLA, so we need to get confirmation that its athletes represent a system that causes trust. "

As for the reaction of VFLA to the statements of the representatives of the IAAF, it is not yet specific. "We will meet on the issue of the ban on the performance of Russian athletes in a neutral status in the near future with both the working group and the IAAF," Dmitry Shlyakhtin, the president of VFLA, told RIA Novosti. "I will not be able to answer when the meeting takes place" .

Recall that in late 2015, VFLA was temporarily disqualified. The reason was numerous violations in the anti-doping sphere. As a result, Russian athletes were forced to miss the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and still can not compete in international tournaments under the national flag. The same of them, who all the same leaves on the international level, it is necessary to receive special permits from the IAAF and compete under the neutral flag. That is, athletes stay exactly in the same position as the representatives of winter sports who were compelled to compete at the Games in Pyeongchang under a neutral flag and also on individual invitations.

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