(Ottawa, Ontario – December 18, 2020) – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) issued the following statement following the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Tribunal’s finding of fact regarding the Russian Anti-Doping Agency’s (RUSADA) non-compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code (Code):
The CCES is pleased that the CAS Tribunal’s decision confirmed RUSADA’s non-compliance with the Code, though disappointed that the determination did not support all of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) proposed consequences, which were fair, proportionate and consistent with the International Standard for Code Compliance by Signatories (ISCCS).
The state-sponsored Russian scandal is by far the most egregious doping offence to have occurred since the creation of WADA and the aggravating circumstances involved demanded a more substantial penalty. We believe the Tribunal demonstrated unwarranted and excessive leniency when it reduced the consequences to a two-year period and failed to provide a clear testing threshold for Russian neutral athletes prior to the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The additional favourable allowances woven into the CAS Award were unnecessarily sympathetic to the perpetrators. Athletes who commit intentional doping violations typically receive a sanction consisting of a total four-year ban from organized sport. Yet after manipulating laboratory data in a state-supported doping scandal, Russia is facing rather modest consequences for only two years and, during those two years, provided with ample latitude to participate in sport in a near normal manner. This Award by the CAS tribunal is generous and accommodating when this situation called out for a stiff and rigorous penalty upholding the Code and the ISCCS to their fullest extent.
This decision underlines the importance of a harmonized World Anti-Doping Code and the importance of consistent implementation of the rules, and consistent consequences for those who break them. To this end, we encourage WADA to ensure all Code signatories adhere to the CAS-approved consequences for RUSADA, going in to the Tokyo Games and beyond.