(Reuters) – The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Monday submitted a formal request to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to have the hearing to resolve its dispute with the Russian Anti-Doping Agency over non-compliance held in public.
WADA barred Russians from competing under their country’s flag at major international events for four years as punishment for having tampered with laboratory data that could have identified drug cheats.
Russia’s appeal against the sanctions, which were handed down last December, will be heard by CAS.
“WADA’s investigations on Russia, and this latest case of non-compliance, have generated huge interest around the world,” WADA Director General Olivier Niggli said in a news release.
“It is WADA’s view – and that of many of our stakeholders – that this dispute at CAS should be held in a public forum to ensure that everybody understands the process and hears the arguments.”
According to WADA, any CAS decision in relation to the non-compliance, the proposed consequences or proposed reinstatement conditions will be binding and must be recognised and enforced.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
