Olympics 2018: Russia’s decision nears – broadcasters consider boycott

The date is: 5. The decision to launch Russia at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang will be made on 12 December. The IOC announced on Friday that, following a meeting of the Executive Committee, the eagerly awaited decision in the doping scandal would be announced. The pressure on everyone involved is enormous.

Only on Thursday, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed the suspension of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency RUSADA. To what extent this has consequences for the decision to participate is, however, completely open. According to the IOC,”all circumstances” would be taken into account. But RUSADA was also suspended during last year’s summer games in Rio, when the IOC had previously decided against a complete exclusion.

The decision is based on the results of two IOC commissions investigating the doping allegations against Russia. Canadian investigator Richard McLaren found that between 2011 and 2015, around 1000 Russian athletes were involved in an institutional doping system. The culmination of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, at which the host is said to have cheated massively, even using the secret service.

If our team is banned from the Olympic Games, our channels will not be broadcast,”said a statement from the state-owned media holding WGTRK, which includes Rossija 1, among others.

According to the Russian business paper Vedemosti, state channel one is also considering refraining from broadcasting in this case. At the request of the French news agency AFP, the channel did not comment on the report.

In addition to Rossija 1 and Channel One, the matches in Russia will still be broadcast by Match TV “The agreements on broadcasting rights have been concluded, no one has excluded Russia from the matches. That’s why we don’t see any point in discussing the issue now,”said a Match TV spokesperson.

Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov explained he “understand” the attitude of WGTRK.”The broadcast of the Olympic Games is associated with the purchase of very expensive rights. And it is obvious that these sums have been spent in the hope of arousing great interest among viewers in Russia. And if our team doesn’t participate, interest in these programs will decline.”

However, it is still too early to talk about it:”Preparations for the Olympics are continuing and our sports organisations are continuing to engage in dialogue with the international sports federations.

Meanwhile, WADA President Craig Reedie defended the suspension of RUSADA:”From an anti-doping point of view, the issue is not politically charged. If they call it politically charged, it’s because political influence has played a role in the misdemeanors,”Reedie said in an interview with the Russian news agency TASS.

After WADA’s decision on Thursday not to allow RUSADA to return, there were allegations from the Russian side that this was politically motivated. Russia continues to refuse to publicly acknowledge the McLaren reports. In addition, WADA continues to demand access to doping samples stored in Moscow.