WADA president: decision about Russia participation in Olympics by end of year
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E-mail Xinhua, November 21, 2020
WARSAW, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Witold Banka criticized the "Rodchenkov Act" law, which was passed by the U.S. Senate, in a Friday interview for Polish media Przeglad Sportowy, emphasizing that the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) will probably make the final decision about Russia's four-year ban by the end of the year.
On Monday the U.S. Senate passed a law called the "Rodchenkov Act". It gives the U.S. the opportunity to prosecute coaches, activists and doctors from other countries and regions for administering doping, if they participate in competitions in which Americans compete or American capital is present.
"We are not against this law. However, it's all about the details. The first is the principle of extraterritoriality. Americans can race anywhere in the world. It is taking the role of a gendarme who wants to take control of the entire system. The act undermines whistleblower protection, which is one of WADA's actions," said the Pole.
"Probably Grigory Rodchenkov would never have decided to expose the Russian doping practice, if he knew that another country that adopted such a law might imprison him for it. At the same time, the Act does not cover, according to our estimates, 80-90 percent of the organizations that are represented by American athletes. Only in academic sport there are half a million competitors. In addition, there are professional leagues that are not subject to the anti-doping code," Banka was quoted as saying by Przeglad Sportowy.
In the coming months the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) will probably announce their decision about the participation of Russian athletes in the upcoming summer in Tokyo, Japan and the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. A year ago, WADA imposed a four-year disqualification for Russians, which was appealed.
"The final decision regarding Russia belongs to the CAS. This month the parties were heard, we are very pleased with the way our lawyers presented the whole case in terms of content and evidence. The decision should be made by the end of the year, we hope it will be clear," added WADA's president. Enditem
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