Russian sports officials on Tuesday spoke out against a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) committee’s recommendations that the country be banned from the Olympics for four years, saying this was overly harsh and would hurt sport there.
The recommendations, published on Monday, mean Russia could miss out on the next two Olympic Games and world championships in a wide range of sports.
WADA’s independent Compliance Review Committee recommended the ban after Moscow provided WADA with laboratory data that was found to have been doctored.
“It’s sad. I can only call these recommendations unfair,†Umar Kremlev, head of Russia’s boxing federation, said in a statement.
“Russia plays an important role in the development of global sport. How can such a country be banned?â€
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