Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne on July 19. “Even the power of speech was lost”: reaction to the acquittal of Russian athletes by the court in Lausanne. Vitaly Mutko, former Russian Minister of Sports

Russia still has a lot of work to do and improve its anti-doping system. But the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne cannot but rejoice. during a trip to Rostov-on-Don, which was eight days before the start Winter Games in Korea, completely acquitted 28 Russian athletes. Banned for life from all Olympics. At the same time, the president called on people to refrain from euphoria and treat Russia’s opponents in this case with respect.

The Russian Olympic Committee is already preparing an additional application to the IOC. The Russian side hopes that the decision to restore the rights of our athletes to participate in the Olympics will be made expeditiously. The athletes themselves, who all this time did not stop preparing for the competition and believed in justice, are counting on this.

The first Olympic athletes from Russia are already in Pyeongchang and have already settled in olympic village. And the first news on Korean soil is good for our team.

“The Court of Arbitration for Sport judges unanimously ruled that the evidence provided by the IOC in this case did not carry sufficient weight in each individual case. Therefore, the evidence collected in 28 cases was considered insufficient to establish anti-doping rule violations by these athletes,” says Mathieu Rieb, Secretary General Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The appeals of 28 athletes were satisfied. This means that the list of athletes from Russia admitted to the Games may be replenished with new names.

“I knew that this would be the case, that the truth would be on our side. I hope that we will win these cases so that we can go to the Olympic Games,” rejoices Olga Fatkulina, Olympic silver medalist in speed skating.

Elena Nikitina, Olympic bronze medalist in skeleton, is also on the list.

“Yes, I qualified for the Olympic Games as number one and I really hope that we will get there, we seem to have a chance to get there.”

The athletes did not believe that CAS would make a decision in favor of Russia until the last moment. We are already accustomed to continuing trials month after month.

“I found out this news at training, so I was ready to skate until the evening from such good news! Of course, our lawyers immediately made a request. Because CAS also writes that they recommend sending us an invitation. So now we are waiting for the results from IOC,” Maxim Vylegzhanin, three-time Olympic silver medalist in cross-country skiing, shares his emotions.

However, the IOC has already hastened to declare that after the CAS decision they will not automatically allow anyone to the Olympics. So athletes and coaches will have to wait for the verdict again.

Albert Demchenko, Main coach Our luge athletes hope to fly to Korea at least on Sunday. His players, the leaders of our team, are already in Pyeongchang. We arrived just in time for the opening of the Olympic Village.

Direct flight Moscow - Seoul, 8 and a half hours in the sky. During this night, our athletes will have to cross 6 time zones, but cope with physical activity they're used to it.

“The main thing for me is to get 3-4 hours of sleep after the flight,” admits Roman Repilov, three-time World Championships medalist. luge.

"Some big problems I don't experience it. Plus, we have very competent medical staff who help us,” says Semyon Elistratov, Olympic champion in short track speed skating.

“There are more difficulties with jet lag. There is a big time difference and this makes it more difficult,” says Sofya Prosvirnova, four-time European short track champion.

“We have already worked out the flight to Korea quite well; we had a World Cup stage here last year and an international training week and we already know what to expect from this long flight, what condition we have already recorded,” explains Sergei Chudinov, senior coach of the Russian luge team.

Due to the truncated composition of our teams, there is no medal plan this time. Many Olympic favorites from Russia remain on the stop list, not involved in doping scandals, but, nevertheless, not allowed to participate in the Games, without clear explanations from the IOC. So, as our athletes say, they will have to fight in Pyeongchang both for themselves and for their teammates remaining in Russia.

"We know our business, we go for results, for good results and we will do everything in our power,” promises Vladislav Antonov, silver medalist of the Olympic Games in luge.

“There are a lot of emotions, they are mixed, and I can’t say anything in particular. It’s sad, but we will break through, everything will be fine,” says Elistratov.

Our athletes will begin their first training sessions at the facilities next week. In the meantime, get plenty of sleep, rest and acclimatization.

It would seem that you can pack your things. The charges were dropped. Lifetime disqualification - cancelled. However, the International Olympic Committee still does not want to see Russian athletes at the games in Pyeongchang.

"The decision of the IOC Executive Committee of December 5, 2017 remains in force. It clearly states that Russian athletes can take part in the Pyeongchang Games only at the invitation of the IOC, since the Russian Olympic Committee is suspended. The result of the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport does not mean that these 28 athletes will be invited to the Games,” said Mark Adams, a spokesman for the IOC.

What prevents this invitation from issuing - main question. 28 athletes are clean, the arbitration unanimously recognized this. If we are talking only about the fight against doping, there can be no obstacles to admission. However, judging by the reaction of the IOC, this is a story not only about sports.

“Although there are still no grounds for non-invitation, nevertheless, the IOC may refuse an invitation and not send an invitation to them. Now lawyers who have powers of attorney from athletes are studying the issues and the possibility of challenging this decision,” said Alexey Kravtsov, head of the Russian Skating Union.

The first thing the lawyers plan to do is send a formal request. If the IOC continues to persist and responds with a decision of inadmissibility, it will be immediately appealed. On an emergency basis. In order to still be in time for the start of the competition.

"We need to act quickly. And we will act quickly. We hope that the Arbitration will force the IOC to admit athletes to the Olympic Games. Our position is quite strong. We will see what the decision will be. But I am sure that with legal point there is no reason not to be allowed to attend the Games Russian athletes, against whom all charges were dropped, despite the fact that athletes of other nationalities in a similar situation are allowed to participate in the games,” says Philip Birch, a lawyer representing the interests of Russian athletes in CAS.

The Russian Olympic Committee will also work to ensure that Russian athletes acquitted by the Arbitration are allowed to participate in the games.

“Of course, the IOC stated at all its meetings that they defend the interests of “clean” athletes. So, CAS has now confirmed that our athletes are “clean” and have earned the right to participate in the Olympics. Therefore, the Russian Olympic Committee will now send a letter with a proposal that they declare our athletes to participate in Olympic Games. And we will wait for the official decision of the International Olympic Committee", informed the public.

The list of those who can participate in the games will be formed by the end of this day. Skeletonists Alexander Tretyakov, Elena Nikitina and Maria Orlova. Speed skaters Olga Fatkulina, Alexander Rumyantsev and Artyom Kuznetsov. Luge athlete Tatyana Ivanova. They all said they were ready to go to Pyeongchang. All that remains is to receive an invitation.

“We have all prepared and continue to prepare. And the mood is good. And today this is also such a definite, certainly pleasant positive moment for anyone,” noted Elena Vyalbe, President of the Federation cross-country skiing Russia.

The moment is not just pleasant - it is fundamental. In fact, 28 athletes defended not only the right to justice, but also their reputation. Yours, and most importantly, Russian sports. And they are not going to stop there.

For the International Olympic Committee, the Arbitration decision is, of course, as inconvenient as possible. And not only because the composition of the participants can change just a week before the start of the games. The main thing is a reputational blow: if the accusations of McLaren, Rodchenkov and Oswald are unfounded, where was the IOC looking? Why did you listen? The questions are apparently too awkward to answer. It’s easier to launch a new attack. And this path, it seems, is not yet completed.

Sports arbitration court in Lausanne, it upheld the appeals of 28 Russian athletes, but in general the decision did not cause great joy among them.

“I no longer have any emotions. I've had so many things happen this year that I can't be happy now. Do I want to compete at the Olympics? Of course, but still not everything depends on me,” skeleton athlete Alexander Tretyakov, whose appeal was upheld, commented to TASS on the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne (CAS). He told RIA Novosti that he would go to the 2018 Olympics if the IOC sent him an invitation to participate in the Games.

World champion in speed skating, Russian Olga Fatkulina, who was also acquitted by CAS, said that a victory for her would be admission to the 2018 Games.

“I earned a medal with my honest work. When I learned about today's decision, my happiness did not decrease or increase. Everything was as it should have been. It will be a victory if we are allowed to the Olympic Games. We will now wait to see how everything will be decided regarding the admission. Then we will rejoice. Now the state is such that there are no emotions. We are waiting to see how everything will turn out according to the situation,” she noted.

“The biggest disappointment is that, okay, they would say the reason, and we could fight, file appeals, etc. But we don’t know the reason at all, why. They just weren’t invited to the Olympic Games, you see, you know, how they invited someone to play football in the yard, but we weren’t invited,” quotes world and European biathlon champion Maxim Tsvetkov.

However, not all athletes are negative. Olympic champion Sochi 2014 biathlon, world champion Anton Shipulin believes that life goes on. “I want all athletes and all fans to unite at this moment and understand that we still have everything ahead, and we, Russia, are a strong country, a strong power,” he said.

Athlete Natalya Matveeva learned about the CAS decision during training:

Publication from Natalia Matveeva(@matveeva_natalia_rus) Feb 1, 2018 at 1:24 PST

Skeleton athlete Elena Nikitina, whose appeal was also upheld by the court, noted that there is still justice: “The mood is fighting, as it was. Of course, we are very happy and were waiting for this decision - there is justice after all. Of course, we are waiting for an invitation from the IOC; we ourselves, so to speak, asked for this holiday.”
Skier Alexey Petukhov admitted that he was in a double state from the news: “I’m a little confused, I understand that it’s all over, but I’m in an incomprehensible, double state. It turns out that it’s unclear with the Olympic Games, the IOC probably won’t allow it, and the list has already been formed. But the fact that we will continue to prepare for the World Cup is a positive decision. With new strength in new fight! Justice has triumphed, there are higher powers and truth is above all nasty things. Now let those who spoke badly about us think about it, let them be ashamed. And we came out victorious, it’s great that the court heard us.”
According to him, the return of the Sochi results is primarily important for those athletes who won medals there. “And my 8th place basically has no effect. As for the 2018 Olympic Games, it is unlikely that we will get there; the list there is not rubbery. It will be difficult to go there. As I understand it, a very small percentage of this is possible. I’m ready to go, I’m ready to fight, but it’s difficult to comment here, the situation is still unclear,” added Petukhov.
“This is great news that Tanya Ivanova and I were acquitted, justice has triumphed. Now we need to resolve the issues of including Ivanova, first of all, in olympic composition. Well, our coaching staff needs to be fully reinstated at the Olympics, because the athletes were found innocent. We will continue to prepare and hope that we will all be given accreditation for the Olympics,” said the head coach of the Russian luge team, Albert Demchenko.
Let us recall that on Thursday the CAS appealed 28 Russian athletes, annulling their lifelong ban from participation in the Olympic Games, which the IOC had previously imposed on the athletes.
The athletes were suspended by the IOC following an investigation by a commission led by Denis Oswald, which rechecked doping samples from the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. The results of acquitted athletes at the Sochi Games have been restored.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne (CAS) refused to uphold the appeals of Russian athletes filed against the IOC's decision not to allow them to participate in the Olympic Games. Thus, the Russian team will be missing 47 athletes

CAS refused to consider the decision to exclude athletes as a sanction. The consideration of the remaining cases took place on the night of February 9. In total, 47 people wrote applications to arbitration; all their appeals were rejected, according to the decision of the Arbitration for Sports, published on the CAS website.

“The CAS arbitrators consider that the process organized by the IOC to create a list of invited Russian athletes to participate in the Olympic Games from Russia cannot be called sanctions [against them],” CAS said.

The court took into account the broad gesture of the IOC to give some Russian athletes the opportunity to compete at the Olympics, albeit under neutral flag. CAS considered this decision a step “designed to balance the interests of some athletes from Russia and the interests of the IOC aimed at the global fight against doping.”

“CAS also found that the applicants failed to demonstrate that the manner in which two IOC ad hoc panels assessed them [for the ineligibility decision] was discriminatory or unfair,” the court’s decision said.

It is separately noted that illegal actions are not seen in the actions of the Olympic Committee.

The IOC received this news without a hint of joy.

“We welcome the CAS decision, it supports the fight against doping and provides clarity [regarding participation in the Games] to all athletes,” the IOC said in a statement on its official Twitter channel.

IOC Statement on CAS: We welcome this decision which supports the fight against doping and brings clarity for all athletes.

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CAS sends a signal to the IOC: experts comment on the Lausanne court decision

Context

MOSCOW, February 1 - RAPSI, Diana Gutsul.

On Thursday, CAS fully upheld 28 and partially upheld 11 of 39 complaints from Russian athletes banned for life from the Olympic Games over suspected doping, the court said in a press release. The court examined each of the cases individually and fully satisfied the complaints of 28 athletes, recognizing the evidence collected regarding them as insufficient. At the same time, CAS agreed with the accusations against 11 athletes, but decided to cancel the lifelong disqualification and limit it to a ban on participation in upcoming games In Korea.

Not united by the report

Lawyer Artem Patsev, who represents the interests of Russian athletes in court, believes that today's decision confirms the lack of support from the court's independent arbitrators for the IOC's approach.

“Apparently, the CAS arbitrators are thereby calling on the IOC, when making decisions, to be guided by the fundamental principles of Olympism and the legal principles enshrined in the Olympic Charter. This is such a clear and powerful signal from the highest authority that a free interpretation of the charter is unacceptable. I hope the IOC’s approach will change, and the guys who are acquitted will quickly receive an invitation to the games and will be able to go there and perform,” Patsev told RAPSI.

Lawyer Svetlana Gromadskaya recalls that when considering complaints, the court examined evidence regarding each athlete, including the report of Grigory Rodchenkov (director of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Anti-Doping Center - approx. RAPSI). “Obviously, the evidence presented by the Russian side was enough to conclude that our athletes were not involved in the charges. Of course, this decision indicates a positive trend. I really hope that our athletes will still be in time for the games. The IOC decision initially raised questions. It is good that it is not final, and there is a court that is guided by the principle of individual responsibility. Moreover, the question arises to what extent, in general, the figure of Rodchenkov inspires confidence. The court is not bound only by his report and the report of McLaren (Richard McLaren - approx. RAPSI), I’m sure now everyone has a chance to prove their innocence,” Hromadska said.

Without guilt and punishment

Lawyer Maxim Rovinsky notes that the decision of the appellate court has nothing to do with whether there was a system to support doping in Russia or not. “The court considers each case individually and the evidence separately for each case, so we see that the principle of collective responsibility in the Lausanne court did not find support, this is very important. And this suggests that all athletes who were sanctioned must try to appeal to the courts of sports jurisdiction. This is an example for our other athletes; filing an appeal is not hopeless,” the expert said.

In turn, lawyer Alexey Melnikov is convinced that the whole situation with the exclusion of Russian athletes from participation in competitions was clearly of a political nature and, from a legal point of view, initially did not seem sufficiently justified.

"Arguments sports organizations sounded extremely unconvincing from a legal point of view. This was not about individual claims, but a collective imputation of guilt to an entire group of athletes, which is unacceptable in law, since the Latin principle “no guilt, no punishment” applies. I assume that in the event of a complete acquittal, the court considered the mere mention of someone somewhere absolutely insufficient. Sorry, but this is a joke: “One thing is written on the fence, but there is firewood there.” Evidence is specific documents, analyzes or at least testimony. And in this case, can the testimony of one fugitive and offended official, who also organized everything himself, be considered sufficient? (Rodchenkova - approx. RAPSI) I believe there are extremely not enough of them. His testimony is general in nature; he talks about “everyone” and “many”. In the case of partial satisfaction of complaints, I think that the principle of equality was violated. It turned out that Canadian or Norwegian athletes who were once convicted of the same violation would now, after the expiration of the deadline, be able to participate in the games, and Russian athletes deprived of this right for life? This is a discriminatory approach based on nationality and is unacceptable. The court — that’s what the court is for — to see whether there is a situation where an athlete is maliciously using doping, or a situation where a substance is detected in the tests, but the substance entered the athlete’s body by accident,” Melnikov explained.

According to the expert, the decision of the court in Lausanne is legal, and therefore can be welcomed. “This confirms that not everyone is ready to spit on the law just to please the political situation,” Melnikov concluded.

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The decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne on complaints from Russian athletes is a clear signal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that a free interpretation of the charter is inadmissible, experts interviewed by RAPSI believe.

15:05 01.02.2018

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Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne on July 19. “Even the power of speech was lost”: reaction to the acquittal of Russian athletes by the court in Lausanne. Vitaly Mutko, former Russian Minister of Sports

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CAS sends a signal to the IOC: experts comment on the Lausanne court decision