It’s not a good time for Russia. The country is again in the news and for all the wrong reasons. The country has been accused of operating doping programme for years.
On Tuesday, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) called an emergency meeting to decide if they would impose a ban on Russia. As per the reports, the decision for the possible ban on the country has been delayed.
BBC reported that IOC is exploring the ‘legal options’. The chances to escape the ban seems to be almost zero for Russia.
All the Russians who competed at 2014 Sochi Olympics will be re-tested by the Committee. IOC president Thomas Bach commented on the episode calling it
a shocking and unprecedented attack on the integrity of sports and on the Olympic Games.
The news of the ban was followed by the findings of McLaren report which said
“urine samples of Russian competitors were manipulated across the “vast majority” of summer and winter Olympic sports from late 2011 to August 2015.”
After the findings were released, the Committee called for the blanket ban on Russia for both Olympics and Paralympics. According to BBC, IOC will
- Not organise or back any sports events or meetings in Russia, including the European Games, scheduled for June 2019;
- Start disciplinary action against Russian officials named in the report compiled by Dr Richard McLaren;
- Ban Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko from the Rio Games;
- Urge McLaren to continue his work and name individual Russian cheats;
- Encourage individual sports federations to look for any Russian infringements of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) code.
If we go by the findings and the Committee’s mood, Russia shouldn’t be expecting a good news.
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