WADA suggests ban from Olympic Games


If the suggested World Anti-Doping Code comes into force athletes can be banned from upcoming Olympic Games after their ban has been completed.

 

In the suggestion it says:

10.15 Limitation on Participation in the Olympic Games.

10.15.1: Where an Athlete or other Person has been sanctioned for an anti-doping rule violation other than under Articles 10.3.3 (Filing Failures and Missed Tests), 10.3.4 (Prohibited Association), 10.4 (Specified Substances), or 10.5.2 (No Significant Fault or Negligence), and Article 10.5.3 (Substantial Assistance) is not applicable, then, as an additional sanction, the Athlete or other Person shall be Ineligible to participate in the next Summer Olympic Games and the next Winter Olympic Games taking place after the end of the period of Ineligibility otherwise imposed.

10.15.2: Where an Athlete or other Person has committed an anti-doping rule violation sanctioned under Articles 10.3.3 (Filing Failures and Missed Tests) or 10.3.4 (Prohibited Association), or if Article 10.5.3 (Substantial Assistance) is applicable, then the body imposing the sanction may impose as an additional sanction Ineligibility to participate in the next Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games taking place after the end of the period of Ineligibility otherwise imposed. In deciding whether or not to impose this additional sanction, the sanctioning body shall, applying the principle of proportionality, consider the Athlete or other Person’s degree of Fault or the amount of Substantial Assistance provided.

[WADA Comment to Article 10.15: The Code’s objective of harmonization would be seriously undermined if multiple Anti-Doping Organizations were each allowed to impose their own anti-doping participation rules. The balance has been struck to provide for a special sanction limiting participation in the Olympic Games. This Article is consistent with the CAS decisions in USOC v. IOC, CAS 2011/O/2422 and British Olympic Association (BOA) v. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), CAS 2011/A/2658.]

Our comments:

This is a new article and is put into the code because the International Olympic Committee, with its rule 45, tried to suspend athletes from participating in the Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games if they had been suspended in the period between two Games. The rule was removed after CAS found that it was not allowed in the current WADC to issue a second sanction to an athlete.

We do how ever suggest that 10.15 also includes Paralympic Games, World Championships, like for example the FIFA World Cup and the IAAF World Championships. This because, especially for FIFA WC, it is more important for an athlete to take part in the World Cup rather than in the Olympic Games. This because FIFA has decided that only three senior soccer players can take part in the Olympic Games, while the rest of the team must consists of U23-players.

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