Russia’s staging of games at Euro 2020 could be under threat after a World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) committee recommended the country be banned from hosting sports events for four years. Russia could also be banned from next year’s Tokyo Olympics – having also been excluded from the 2018 Winter Games – and other major competitions.
Wada’s compliance review committee (CRC) recommended a raft of measures after declaring the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) non-compliant over inconsistencies in anti-doping data. One of the proposals is to withdraw the right to host an event already awarded unless it’s “legally and practically impossible”. St Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, is a venue for Euro 2020 group games and a quarter-final tie – a fixture potentially involving England.
Wada’s executive committee will consider the recommendations and make the final decision at a meeting in Paris on 9 December. “We are plunging, for the next four years, into a new phase of Russia’s doping crisis,” Russia’s anti-doping chief Yury Ganus told AFP. “There are a lot of problems in sports here, but the most difficult and tragic thing is that our athletes have become hostages of the actions of our sports officials. “We need to push through real changes. We need new sports leaders.”
