• Suspension prohibits lab from carrying out any anti-doping activities • Qatar lab failed to comply with international standards

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Doha’s anti-doping laboratory has had its accreditation suspended for four months after it failed to comply with international standards, the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said in a statement on Monday.

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The decision to ban the laboratory in Qatar, host country of the 2022 World Cup, was a direct result of more stringent quality assessment procedures introduced by Wada to ensure laboratories maintain the highest standards.

The suspension, which took effect on 7 November, prohibits the laboratory from carrying out any anti-doping activities including all analyses of urine and blood samples.

During the ban, samples must be sent to another Wada-accredited laboratory, “ensuring that athletes can have full confidence in continued high quality sample analysis and the wider anti-doping system”.

The Doha laboratory has 21 days to appeal against the decision to the court of arbitration for sport.