Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called on Tuesday for using existing mechanisms to uphold Russian athletes' rights following the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) decision to ban Russia from participating in major sporting events for four years
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th December, 2019) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called on Tuesday for using existing mechanisms to uphold Russian athletes' rights following the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) decision to ban Russia from participating in major sporting events for four years.On Monday, WADA's Executive Committee unanimously adopted the recommendations of the organization's Compliance Review Committee 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 under neutral status � without the flag or national anthem. In addition, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency was recognized as non-compliant with the global anti-doping code.
"Obviously, it is an unpleasant situation. That being said, there are mechanisms for upholding our rights, mechanisms for defending our rights as a country and mechanisms for defending our athletes' rights, those mechanisms must be utilized," Peskov said when asked whether or not the situation undermines Russia's athletic reputation.
Russia now has 21 days to appeal the decision, triggered by the alleged manipulation of Moscow anti-doping lab data, at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
