MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2019) The Russian parliament lower chamber's committee on physical culture, sport, and youth affairs is working on the chamber's statement regarding the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) decision to bar Russian athletes for four years from taking part in major athletic competitions, the committee's chairman, Mikhail Degtyarev, said on Monday.
"We, in the Committee on Physical Culture, Sport and Youth Affairs are initiating the State Duma's [the lower chamber] resolution, statement on this issue," Degtyarev told journalists.
He added that the resolution's central message would be that it was wrong to punish a country twice for the same misdeed, apply the principles of collective responsibility and presumption of guilt, especially concerning punishment for young athletes.
"Today WADA demands from our athletes to prove that they have not been caught in some sort of machinations. What kind of [machinations]? Who undertook those machinations? What does the new generation of athletes, who have grown and prepared themselves during [these] four years, and have no connections to the events which were unfolding in 2014-2015, have to do with it?" the lawmaker added.
At the same time, the chairman confirmed his committee's readiness to change the law per request from the Sports Ministry or international sports organizations.
"But, I repeat, we have ratified the UNESCO convention [against doping in sport], we have ratified the [WADA] anti-doping charter, and are full-fledged members of the international athletic family," Degtyarev pointed out.
Earlier in the day, the WADA Executive Committee unanimously adopted the recommendations of the organization's Compliance Review Committee (CRC) to suspend Russian athletes from participating in international sporting events, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games, for four years. Only "clean" athletes from Russia will be allowed to compete in neutral status � without the flag or national anthem. In addition, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) was recognized as non-compliant with the global anti-doping code.
