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Apparently 150-lawyer-strong law firm Schellenberg Wittmer based in Geneva and Zurich, Switzerland was hired by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA). They were apparently “appointed” to lead their appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the ruling that will keep Russian athletes from competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games under their own flag.

If the language of the law will permit, and should the CAS find a way to allow Russians that were declared eligible to compete independently to represent the flag, perhaps RUSADA should pay a fee to insure against the costs of carrying out doping tests. In that case, every Russian athlete should be tested.

Schellenberg Wittmer has represented Russian athletes at other CAS appeals.

On Dec. 9, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) approved the recommendations of its Compliance Review Committee to ban RUSADA. The ruling came after there was evidence that the Moscow Laboratory data had been manipulated. The committee recommended that RUSADA be suspended for four years from international competition.