Olympia 2018: Lehner: Suspension of Russian athletes “legally sensitive”

Sports law expert Michael Lehner sees legal problems with a provisional suspension of athletes suspected of doping “This is new legal territory. But the attribution of an individual guilt without a positive doping test is quite tricky from a legal point of view,”said the Heidelberg lawyer to the SID:”In addition, lifelong bans are completely excessive. It’s just a political sign.”

On Tuesday, the World Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation’s Anti-Doping Commission had spoken out against a temporary suspension of Sochi winners Alexander Tretyakov and Alexander Subkov, who had been banned from the Olympic Games for life, because of legal problems.

According to the IBSF, after studying the detailed reasons for the decision of the Oswald Commission of the IOC, the committee sees legal obstacles to the enforcement of the sentence.

In addition to the suspensions of the World Cup, this could also affect the lifelong Olympic suspensions imposed by the IOC. The Russian athletes concerned are taking action against their suspensions before the CAS International Sports Court. Lehner therefore recommends “to block the Russia system”because “the Russian Federation is convicted”.

In the opinion of its own anti-doping panel, the Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Federation’s approach violates the WADA Code and IBSF regulations. In addition, it is highly likely that this would not be compatible with international law, Swiss procedural law and the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Executive Committee of the IBSF announced on Tuesday evening that it would appeal against the decision of the body before the CAS. A total of 32 Russian athletes have so far been excluded from the Olympic Games by the Oswald Commission for the rest of their lives, 13 of which are the responsibility of the IBSF.

The IOC also reacted with incomprehension and supported the IBSF in the run-up to CAS:”We cannot understand or accept the conclusions of the IBSF Anti-Doping Panel,”said an IOC spokesperson on SID inquiry. The findings of the Oswald Commission were therefore based on “extensive forensic evidence”.

Skeleton-pilot Tretyakov is allowed to continue the World Cup after the decision of the IBSF. Bob-Pilot Subkow has meanwhile resigned and is now president of the Russian sled federation. Their gold medals from Sochi were denied to the two athletes by the IOC.