Following a hearing at the Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS), the appeal of the Egyptian Weightlifting Federation was dismissed and the decision rendered by the Independent Member Federations Sanctioning Panel (IMFSP) to suspend the Egyptian Weightlifting Federation was upheld.

In dismissing the Egyptian Weightlifting Federation’s appeal against the sanction, the CAS arbitration panel ordered the Federation to make a contribution towards the IWF’s expenses in connection with the proceedings.

The IMFSP had originally imposed sanctions against the Egyptian Weightlifting Federation on 12 September, with the suspension being based on multiple anti-doping rule violations that were committed by Egyptian weightlifters. After having been ineligible to send athletes to the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships, the Egyptian Weightlifting Federation will now be unable to qualify athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“If we are to ensure a culture of clean competition, then we must be prepared to see the most serious of consequences applied in extreme cases. The IWF will now do all it can to help the Egyptian Weightlifting Federation with education and improvement in the field of anti-doping, so that their athletes may make a successful return to competition.”