WADA CEO Niggli said that Russia has no right to host the Friendship Games
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Director General Olivier Niggli said Russia has no right to organize the World Friendship Games because the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) has been stripped of its compliance status.
He noted that the competition is not going to be held within the framework of world sports. According to the official, they are being organized by the president of the federation, which has been deprived of recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
We don’t know many details, but we believe that it is necessary to draw attention to this event from an anti-doping point of view. It will be organized by a country whose anti-doping system does not comply with the code. In addition, under the code, a country whose anti-doping agency has been deprived of compliance status is not allowed to organize major competitions
Niggli added that it would be impossible to monitor the Friendship Games without the involvement of the AIU (Independent Body for the Combating of Adversity in Athletics). He emphasized that athletes would not be provided with a fair system in this way.
On October 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to hold the World Friendship Games. The tournament will be held in Moscow and Yekaterinburg in 2024.
It is noted that this decision was made in order to ensure guaranteed free access of Russian athletes and sports organizations to international sports activities, and the development of new formats of international sports cooperation.
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The Foreign Ministry responded to WADA’s statement
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, responded to the statement of the WADA General Director, emphasizing that the country will hold competitions at a high level.
I recommend Olivier Niggli to address the issue of compliance with doping standards of transgender people pumped with hormones included in international competitions under the IOC. And Russia will hold the Friendship Games at a high level in accordance with existing international standards
Earlier, Zakharova called on the International Olympic Committee to restore the rights of athletes from Russia and Belarus and return them to tournaments. “The Russian Federation resolutely demands that the IOC abandon double standards,” she said.
On March 28, the IOC recommended that Belarusians and Russians who did not support the special operation in Ukraine be allowed to compete in neutral status. At the same time, athletes from Russia and Belarus associated with the armed forces or security agencies of their countries are recommended to be excluded from participation in competitions.
The State Duma proposed filing a lawsuit against WADA
State Duma deputy Evgeny Revenko proposed filing a lawsuit against WADA in a Telegram channel, since the agency does not have the right not to reinstate RUSADA, since Russia has fully complied with the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The parliamentarian stressed that the country has the right to host the World Friendship Games, despite statements by the International Olympic Committee and WADA. He recalled that the state has experience in hosting large-scale international competitions, including the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014 and the FIFA World Cup in 2018, and the latest sports base has already been formed in Yekaterinburg.
We will carry it out. Calm, confident and unifying. And we will be the best
Revenko expressed confidence that foreign athletes will come to the games, especially in connection with big questions for Paris, where the 2024 Summer Olympics will be held, in terms of ensuring security against the background of instability in the Middle East and the position of the West in relation to this conflict.
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The IOC recommended that athletes refuse to participate in the Friendship Games
On November 15, the International Olympic Committee recommended that National Olympic Committees (NOCs) refuse to participate in the World Friendship Games in Russia. This was stated by James McLeod, Director of the IOC Department for Relations with NOCs.
He advised caution regarding this initiative, noting that any participation in the competition would be contrary not only to the recommendations of the committee’s executive committee, but also to the preservation of the independence and autonomy of the sport.
The organizing committee of the World Friendship Games expressed surprise at the position of the IOC. They noted that they never sought confrontation with the committee or the creation of competitions in opposition to the Olympic movement, RIA Novosti reports.
For Russian athletes who are excluded from major international competitions, the World Friendship Games are intended to become the most important sporting event in recent years and provide an opportunity to compete in a representative international sports forum with the strongest foreign athletes, as well as provide motivation and support to continue an active professional career
Kremlin official Dmitry Peskov did not agree with the IOC’s position, noting that the letter “M” in the abbreviation does not mean a monopoly on the sports world, and competition formats can be different outside the context of the committee.
President of the All-Russian Federation of Rhythmic Gymnastics Irina Viner called the IOC’s call expected. According to her, from the very beginning it was clear that the committee would adhere to a similar policy in relation to games, “where athletes will simply come to perform and receive decent prize money, and not to organize some kind of political demonstration.”
Source: Lenta
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