Why Russia’s ‘ban’ from all major sport is anything but
In ordinary circumstances, it would be hugely unfair to banish clean and rule-abiding athletes from the Games or World Cup. But there is nothing normal about this doping scandal
When is a ban not a ban? When does “a cover-up that operated on an unprecedented scale” go unpunished? When will sport finally take doping seriously?
Russia’s four-year ban from all major sport, this time due to tampering with anti-doping data and attempting to cover it up with fake, inaccurate and missing drugs tests, prompts all the familiar questions. If you have a sense of deja vu right now, you’re not the only one.
Why is it no surprise? Because the punishment does not fit the crime, truth be told. Russia will not be at the 2020 Olympics, nor the 2022 World Cup, unless they win an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport next year – only they will be. While the name “Russia” will not be allowed in Tokyo, nor the national flag or anthem, Russian athletes will be allowed to compete as long as they can prove they are clean and remain untarnished from the largest doping scandal sport has ever seen.
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