Governing Bodies
CAS HEARING BEGINS AS RUSSIA BIDS TO OVERTURN 4-YEAR BAN FROM INTERNATIONAL SPORT
Russia’s attempt to overturn its four-year ban from international sport got under way in Lausanne on Monday (Nov 2), the latest chapter of a long-running and controversial saga over state-sanctioned doping.
Global anti-doping body Wada in December last year declared the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) to be non-compliant after being accused of manipulating testing data.
The ban meant the country would miss the re-arranged Tokyo Olympics next year as well as football’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2022 Winter Olympics in China.
A hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which opened on Monday and is expected to last until Friday, has already caused division.
Wada had requested that the proceedings be held in public, but following disagreement between all parties, the three CAS judges eventually opened the first session behind closed doors via teleconference.
A decision will only be made public on an undisclosed date.
Russia considers its ban to be legally indefensible.
Former Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev described the suspension as “chronic anti-Russian hysteria”.
Crucial week for Russian sport
The hearing is being billed as a landmark week for Russian sport and global anti-doping efforts.
Wada, formed in 1999, also has plenty on the line after the United States threatened to pull its annual US$2.7 million (S$3.68 million) financing.
US lawmakers accused Wada of failing to implement governance reforms and have criticised the handling of the Russian scandal.
Also, the International Olympic Committee and sports federations are expecting clear directives from CAS, eight months before the Tokyo Olympics.
“Wada has left no stone unturned in preparation for this hearing and we are looking forward to having the opportunity to present our case clearly and fairly to the panel,” said Wada president Witold Banka.
“I remain convinced that the Wada Executive Committee made the right recommendation in this case last December.
“As at every other stage, we are following due process in relation to Rusada’s compliance procedure as we continue to deal effectively with this complex matter.”
The Russian saga is now uncomfortably into its fifth year.
In May 2016, Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Moscow’s anti-doping laboratory, blew the whistle over state-backed doping at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Barely two weeks before the 2016 Olympics in July that year, Wada called for Russia to be banned from Rio.
The IOC, however, stopped short of an outright ban and said individual federations would decide whether to allow Russian athletes to compete.
In 2017, the IOC banned the Russian Olympic Committee from the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games, but allowed clean Russian athletes to take part as neutral competitors.
A total of 168 Russians eventually competed.
Then, in September 2018, Wada controversially lifted its ban on Rusada, despite not having been granted access to its doping-tainted Moscow laboratory.
Russia finally handed over lab data to Wada in January 2019.
However, in yet another twist, in September Wada gave Russia three weeks to explain “inconsistencies” in the data.
World Athletics announced it had suspended the process of reinstating Russia’s athletics federation and was contemplating expelling the country entirely from the sport due to the doping scandal.
Wada then decided to ban Russia for four years over the manipulated data.
-AFP
Governing Bodies
FIFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Congo officials over financial misconduct
FIFA’s ethics committee launched disciplinary proceedings against three senior Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT) officials on Wednesday, including president Jean-Guy Mayolas, over allegations of financial misconduct.
Mayolas, his wife and his son were sentenced to life in prison earlier this month after a criminal court in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, convicted them of embezzling $1.1 million in FIFA funds. Media reports said their whereabouts were not known , and they were tried in absentia.
FECOFOOT general secretary Wantete Badji and treasurer Raoul Kanda are also subject to the disciplinary proceedings, FIFA said. Badji and Kanda were sentenced to five years each in prison by the court in Brazzaville for related charges.
“These proceedings follow the receipt of information and documents during an audit,” FIFA said in a statement.
-Reuters
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The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering rewriting its rules to try barring President Donald Trump and all U.S. government officials from attending the LA Olympics in 2028, in a move that could also have implications for the World Cup being hosted by the U.S. this summer.
The proposal, on the agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting of the global drug-fighting watchdog’s executive committee, is the latest manoeuvre to come out of a yearslong refusal of the U.S. government to pay its annual dues to WADA.
The refusal is part of the American government’s unanimous, bipartisan protest of the agency’s handling of a case involving Chinese swimmers and other issues.
The Associated Press learned of the agenda item through correspondence it obtained between WADA and European officials involved in the agency’s decision-making. Two others with knowledge of the agenda confirmed the existence of the rules proposal to AP; they were not authorised to speak publicly about the agenda, which has not been released publicly.
The proposal was, in fact, first brought up in 2024, when U.S. authorities successfully lobbied for its rejection. The U.S. has since lost its seat on the executive committee.
“In spite of WADA’s increasing threats, we continue to stand firm in our demand for accountability and transparency from WADA to ensure fair competition in sport,” said Sara Carter, the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
The rule, if passed, would figure to be mostly symbolic, given the limits an international sports federation could have on the president of a country attending an event inside his own borders.
“I have never heard of a $50-million-budget Swiss foundation being able to enforce a rule to, for example, prevent the United States president from going anywhere,” said Carter’s predecessor at ONDCP, Rahul Gupta, who was on the WADA executive committee two years ago and led the movement to reject the proposal. “And the next question you have to ask is: How are you going to enforce it? Are they going to post a red notice from Interpol? It’s ludicrous. It’s clear they have not thought this through.”
In a news release after this story published, WADA said the AP story was “entirely misleading,” focusing on Fitzgerald’s statement to the AP that if proposals being discussed were “introduced, given that the rules would not apply retroactively, the FIFA World Cup, LA and Salt Lake City Games (in 2034) would not be covered.”
Fitzgerald’s only answer to three emails from AP seeking clarification on his initial response — specifically about how a rule that had not yet been adopted could or couldn’t be applied retroactively on events that are scheduled for the future — was: “I’m trying to say that it would not apply retroactively so those events would not be covered. Given that and the next meeting of the Board being scheduled for November, I don’t see how it could come into play for this year’s World Cup.”
-AP
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The Confederation of African Football has dismissed Yasin Osman Robleh, the Djiboutian official who headed its judicial bodies for the past six years, in a move aimed at restoring confidence in the organisation’s disciplinary processes.
According to reports from convergence sources, the decision was confirmed on Saturday by CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba, bringing an abrupt end to Robleh’s tenure overseeing the confederation’s disciplinary and investigative committees since 2019.
Robleh’s position reportedly came under increasing pressure following the controversy surrounding sanctions imposed after the Africa Cup of Nations Final between Morocco and Senegal. The disciplinary decisions that followed the match sparked criticism from several quarters and placed CAF’s legal framework under intense scrutiny.
In response to the situation, CAF’s Executive Committee has appointed Togolese lawyer Cedric Egai, currently the confederation’s Director of Legal Affairs, as interim head of the judicial bodies.
Egai is expected to stabilise the organisation’s legal arm while CAF works toward appointing a permanent successor to Robleh.
Disciplinary Decisions Delayed
The leadership change has already affected ongoing disciplinary processes within the confederation. CAF’s disciplinary committee reportedly held hearings last Thursday on several cases, including the high-profile encounter involving Egypt’s Al Ahly and Morocco’s AS FAR.
However, decisions on those matters have been temporarily put on hold pending the confirmation of new leadership within the judicial structure.
Sources indicate that once a permanent successor is appointed, CAF will move swiftly to conclude outstanding disciplinary rulings affecting both clubs and national teams.
Restoring Confidence
The move is widely seen as part of CAF’s effort to restore confidence in its judicial system following weeks of controversy surrounding disciplinary decisions at major competitions.
Robleh’s departure closes a significant chapter in CAF’s legal administration, while Egai’s interim appointment signals a potential shift in leadership and governance at a critical time for African football.
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