Russia has been banned from all global sport for the next four years.
The Russian flag and anthem will not be allowed at major events and Russian athletes will only be able to compete under a neutral flag, provided they can prove they have not been involved in the doping scandal.
Russia will still be able to compete at Euro 2020, at which St Petersburg is a host city, but will not be able to compete as a nation at any events considered to be ‘major’ in relation to anti-doping breaches, including the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The decision was made unanimously at a meeting of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Executive Committee (WADA).
The decision follows a declaration that Russia’s Anti Doping Agency (Rusuda) is non-compliant. The agency had to give laboratory data to investigators in January this year as a condition of its reinstatement in 2018 following a three-year suspension as a result of a state-sponsored doping scandal. It is believed that the data handed over to investigators was manipulated, leading to the agency being declared non-compliant.
Russia has been banned from competing as a nation in major athletics competitions since 2015. Some Russian athletes also competed under a neutral flag in Pyeongchang for the Winter Olympics in 2018.
Rusuda has 21 days to launch an appeal against the ban, and any appeal would be referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).
