Doping: Russia Faces New Sanctions For Noncompliance

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) will face more sanctions for failing to address noncompliance issues, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said.

Following executive committee meetings in Shanghai, WADA said it also found the Pan American Sport Organisation (Panam Sports) and the South Africa and Bermuda Anti-Doping Agencies in noncompliance with the WADA code.

The impact of new sanctions on RUSADA is likely to be limited as many have already been put in place by world sporting bodies because of Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.

Among the punishments recommended by WADA’s Compliance Review Committee (CRC), Russia’s flag will not be flown at the Olympic Games, world championship, continental and regional competitions until reinstatement conditions are met.

WADA said these would be fresh consequences, with sanctions previously agreed to by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in December 2020 having elapsed after two years.

RUSADA was deemed noncompliant because of nonconformities relating to national legislation that were identified during a virtual audit in September 2022.

Both South Africa and Bermuda’s noncompliance is due to a failure to appropriately implement the WADA Code into their legal systems.

The two countries will have 21 days to dispute or resolve noncompliance concerns.

South Africa could be under a particularly tight deadline when it comes to the Rugby World Cup.

If South Africa does not address the noncompliance issues before the 21-day appeal window closes, they would be unable to fly their flag should they reach the quarter-finals and beyond.

If noncompliance is confirmed, the main impact on the Pan Am Games, which are set for Santiago from Oct. 20 to Nov. 5, would be that there will be supervision of the entire testing program implemented by Panam Sports at their expense.