The IOC extends the provisional measures imposed on Russia following the doping scandal
By Jonathan Copping, Sports Lawyer, Bolt Burdon Law Firm, London, United Kingdom
On 19 July 2016, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) imposed provisional measures on Russia following the completion of the first part of the independent report prepared by Prof Richard McLaren in relation to the “Sochi Allegations”.
The provisional measures included: not organising or giving patronage to any sports event or meeting in Russia; and initiating reanalysis, including forensic analysis, and a full inquiry into all Russian athletes, who participated in the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, and their coaches, officials, and support staff.
Subsequent to these provisional measures, the IOC imposed sanctions on Russian Athletes relating to their participation in the 2016 Rio Olympics. The sanctions included that no Russian Athlete would be accepted for entry into the Rio Olympics, unless they could provide evidence, to the full satisfaction of their International Sports Federation, following an analysis by the International Federation concerned of each athlete’s anti-doping record and applying the principles of the World Anti-Doping Code and other principles agreed at the Olympic Summit held on 21 June 2016.
Following analysis by the International Sports Federations, Russia ended up taking 271 athletes to the Rio Olympics.
The IOC executive board, currently meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, has confirmed that the provisional measures against Russia will be extended until further notice.
It is likely that the provisional measures will be extended until the IOC has had the opportunity of reviewing the second (and final) part of the McLaren report, which is due to be released online today (9 December 2016).
The IOC released the following statement:
“The evidence provided by Professor McLaren in his investigation has to be evaluated, and those implicated have to be given the right to be heard”.
We will be reviewing the findings in Prof McLaren’s final report with keen interest in a later post on the GSLTR website!
