Global sporting authorities ruled on Thursday that Russia will be banned from all major international competition, including the Olympic Games, for two years as part of a doping case.
The ruled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, stating that Russia is barred from the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo next summer, the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The ruling also prohibits the display of the Russian flag and the playing of its national anthem at all international events until 2023. Russian teams were also barred at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea over the issue of doping.
Thursday’s penalty reduced a four-year ban ordered by the World Anti-Doping Agency which accused Russian sports authorities of failing to deliver “authentic” testing data. WADA imposed its ban a year ago and supported the findings of an independent investigatory committee that determined the Russian Anti-Doping Agency was “non-compliant” with the World Anti-Doping Code.
The decision is expected to be adopted quickly by the International Olympic Committee and various sporting federations.
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