• Athletes tell Wada failure to act will fail clean athletes • Wada’s compliance review committee to meet this month

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The World Anti-Doping Agency has been warned by its own athlete committee that if it does not ban Russia again it will have failed clean athletes.

Wada was left with egg on its face after the Russian authorities allowed a 31 December deadline to hand over doping data from its Moscow lab to lapse – the key condition of a controversial deal to lift the three-year suspension on the Russian Anti-Doping Agency in September.

To make matters worse for Wada, its president, Sir Craig Reedie, had offered a “100%” guarantee the Russians would comply in November.

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Wada’s compliance review committee will now meet on 14 January to make a recommendation to Wada’s executive committee on how to proceed but Wada’s athlete committee said the only option is for Russia to be suspended again.

“We are extremely disappointed that the Dec 31 deadline imposed on Russia by Wada has not been adhered to by the Russian authorities,” the committee said in a statement. “We now expect that following the process recommended by the CRC that Russia will be declared non-compliant. Only this action will be suitable and appropriate in the view of the athletes. Anything less will be considered a failure by Wada to act on behalf of clean athletes.”

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Wada also faced mounting pressure from national anti-doping organisations, including from the United States and Germany, who called for an immediate review and recommendation from the CRC.

“We recognise Rusada has been working with Wada in an effort to resolves these issues, but the conditions … were unequivocal and without data there can be only one outcome,” Nado leaders said in a statement. “The importance of this situation does not warrant providing a further two weeks for Russia to comply.”

UK Anti-Doping, which did not add its name to the statement, nonetheless said it was “deeply concerned” by Russia’s behaviour.

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“Uninhibited access to the Moscow laboratory and the athletes data was the first condition of Wada’s reinstatement of Rusada in September 2018,” a statement said. “At the same time the process to be followed once the 31 December deadline passed was set out.

“The CRC must now complete its work and Ukad keenly awaits its recommendation to Wada’s executive committee.”