Russia to decide on appeal against doping ban

Russia's anti-doping agency will on Thursday decide whether to launch an appeal against a four-year ban from major sporting events over systematic violations, a prohibition denounced by the country's leadership as politically motivated.

The supervisory board of RUSADA will hold a meeting and is widely expected to announce its formal rejection of the December 9 decision by WADA to ban Russia for non-compliance.

This formal disagreement with WADA would trigger the process of appeal against the ban at the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.

RUSADA supervisory board chairman Alexander Ivlev is due to announce the decision at 1000 GMT.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on December 10 banned Russia for four years from major global sporting events, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, over manipulated doping data.

Under the sanctions, Russians will still be allowed to compete at the Olympics next year and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, but only as neutrals and if they can demonstrate that they were not part of what WADA believes was a state-sponsored system of doping.

Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed the ban as a "politically motivated" ruling that "contradicted" the Olympic Charter. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev lamented it was "the continuation of this anti-Russian hysteria that has already become chronic."
- 'Inefficient and useless' -
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"The board will decide to appeal," he told AFP. "I believe this to be inefficient and useless."