There will not be a Team Russia competing in hockey at the next Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. In fact, no one will be competing under the Russian flag in any Olympics or other international sporting tournaments for the next four years. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) approved a recommendation Monday by its Compliance Review Committee to ban Russia from what it defines as major international competitions for four years. The ban leaves the door open to Russian athletes determined to be free of doping to compete under a neutral flag.
Not only will Russian athletes be banned from major competitions but government officials will also be barred from attending such events. Russia will also not be eligible to host or even bid to host major events during the same time period
Team Russia won Olympic gold at the last Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. However, they were not competing officially as Team Russia, but rather Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) following the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee after the Olympic doping controversy in which several athletes were suspended and had medals stripped after being found guilty of taking banned substances.
The Review Committee's recommendation to ban Russia Monday was based on its finding that Moscow had falsified doping data from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency's (RUSADA) lab, which was handed over to WADA investigators in January. Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov has attributed the discrepancies in the data to technical issues. Full disclosure of data from the Moscow laboratory had been a key condition of Russia's controversial reinstatement by WADA in September 2018.
Russia now has 21 days to appeal the decision. If it chooses to do so, the case will be referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
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