No wonder the Russian masses think that they have been dealt a cruel blow and that doping is perfectly okay. It comes from the top.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is endorsing the appeal of Russia’s four-year ban from all sports.
From Inside the Games
Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) decision to ban his country from competing under its own flag at the Olympic Games is against the Olympic Charter and will be challenged at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Russia was banned from the world’s top sporting events for four years yesterday, including the next summer and Winter Olympics and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, for manipulating data from the Moscow Laboratory.
Putin claimed that because WADA suspended the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) and does not have any concerns about the Russian Olympic Committee, their “decision in this part runs counter to the Olympic Charter”.
Putin heard news of the ban while attending the Normandy Four summit in Paris.
“We have all the reasons to file an appeal to CAS,” he said.
“There are other considerations as well, but it is important that this issue is analysed by specialists, lawyers who would talk with our partners having this knowledge.”
