Russia could be banned from next year’s Olympic Games and the UEFA Euro 2020 after the World Anti-Doping Agency was expected to recommend it be found "non-compliant" over anomalies in drug testing results.
WADA's executive committee will meet on December 9 to assess the conclusion of its independent compliance review committee, which has been inspecting laboratory data belonging to Russia’s anti-doping agency RUSADA, The Guardian reports.
If the executive agrees with the findings, Russia could not only receive a blanket ban from participation in major sporting events but also have hosting rights removed, including St Petersburg's status as a EURO 2020 venue.
The data subject to inspection was obtained by WADA earlier this year under the terms of a settlement relating to a previous drugs ban. The data is missing positive results that were made public by a whistleblower and a deadline for RUSADA to explain those omissions has passed.
The latest developments will serve to rekindle the controversy over the handling of Russia's doping infractions. An independent inquiry in 2016 found "state-sponsored" and "systematic" doping had occurred across multiple sports.
Russia was declared non-compliant but the country's athletes still competed during the 2016 Olympic Games, in Brazil, and Russia hosted the football World Cup in 2018. The country was then reinstated as compliant in September 2018, with access to the Moscow laboratory data one of the conditions laid down.
