Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE starting June 12 2026

CAS opens case after Russian federation appeals ban

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has launched an arbitration procedure a day after the Russian athletics federation appealed against the decision by global athletics body IAAF to extend its suspension, CAS said on Thursday.

CAS opens case after Russian federation appeals ban
(Reuters)

CAS, which did not say when a hearing could take place, confirmed the federation was looking to void the IAAF's decision in July to prolong the ban and regain Russia's full IAAF membership as soon as possible.

Russia's athletics federation was suspended in November, 2015 after a report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found evidence of systematic, state-sponsored doping in the sport.

Although Russia has pledged to co-operate with global sports bodies to curb the use of banned performance-enhancing drugs, the authorities have vehemently denied the existence of state-sponsored doping cover-ups.

The federation's legal action came days after WADA conditionally reinstated Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA, angering sports bodies around the world.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

The move fulfilled one of three pre-conditions that need to be met for the IAAF to reinstate the suspended federation.

For the federation to be reinstated, Russia must acknowledge that officials from the Sports Ministry were involved in doping cover-up schemes. Russian authorities must provide access to data from testing samples at the Moscow lab, which was also suspended following the 2015 scandal.

The IAAF said on Wednesday it was confident in its legal position and that the Russian federation could only be reinstated if the outstanding criteria were met.

The IAAF will discuss Russia's progress towards reinstatement at its next council meeting in Monaco in December.

Despite the federation's suspension, some Russian athletes -- including 2015 world champion 110 metres hurdler Sergey Shubenkov and twice world champion high jumper Maria Lasitskene -- have been cleared to compete internationally as neutrals after demonstrating they train in a doping-free environment.

(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber,; Editing by Ed Osmond)


2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world