Should you want to read the commission’s report in full, here it is.
And with that, I will bid you farewell. Cheerio!
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Michael Chandler has shared his thoughts via email …
Coe would have to have been enormously unobservant and detached as the Vice-President of an organisation that was involved in such widespread and extensive corruption and not to have had any suspicions about any of it yet that is what the world is being asked to believe! This is not a credible position for him or for anyone else to maintain for very long without making themselves look ridiculous!
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After a couple of questions about the biological passport, the press conference comes to an end. Let’s re-cap the key points before bringing you some reaction.
- The report says that the IAAF council could not have been unaware of doping athletics
- Dick Pound says Lord Coe is the best person to carry on as the IAAF president and days he doesn’t believe that the former London 2012 chief knew about the doping
- But he does say that there was a cover-up – something Coe denied on Wednesday.
- Instead Pound blames organisational failure and says the blame extends beyond the Diacks but continued to absolve Coe of blame.
- Of course, the Diacks are not without blame and Pound said that everything began with the former IAAF president Lamine Diack who “was responsible for organizing and enabling the conspiracy and corruption” that took place.
- The commission also fears that instances of extortion in Russia and Turkey may be the ‘tip of the iceberg’
- Pound refuses to set a timeframe for Russia’s return to elite athletics competition.
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Question marks are being raised as to Pound’s refusal to lay any blame at Coe’s door …
Verdict of Tory MP, senior figure in Culture Media & Sport Select Committee, who asked Coe tough questions in Dec https://t.co/DvPSL5qeRv
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) January 14, 2016
Pound is now asked about Russia’s participation at the Rio 2016 Olympics. He won’t give timeframes, instead he’s talking about ‘road maps’.
“The situation is that they’re out [at the moment]. It’s up to them to convince the authorities. That’s they’re problem. I’m confident that if Russia want to address the problem, they can do so. Whether they have done, I don’t know.
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Pound being asked about Putin and Diack again and the sudden increase from $6m to $25m (£17.4m) for Russian rights to televise the 2013 world championships provided by a Russian bank. “Whether it’s true or not, I don’t know. That’s for further investigation.”
An interesting sub-plot to the commission’s report …
Away from doping this also v v interesting in Pound report re awarding of 2020 Olympics: pic.twitter.com/lJsXvVJqH2
— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) January 14, 2016
Asked if the IAAF scandal is as bad as Fifa, Pound says ‘organisationally, no’. But he goes on to say that what the commission finds most troubling is that it [doping] affects competitors rather than a load of men passing money around.
Pound asked if dissolving the IAAF and starting again was a viable option? “No”.
Yet another question on Coe now, and one on Lamine Diack’s relationship with Vladimir Putin. Pound goes straight for the second and says “I don’t know.”
On Coe he says, “If he knew there was corruption going on, he would have done something about it.”
And goes on to blame organisational failure which ‘must be addressed’.
Another question on Coe now. Pound asked, rather matter of factly, did he lie?
“I do not believe so. You’ve got to understand the concentration of power in and around the president of any organisation and the relative infrequence with which the IAAF would meet.”
Pound really backing Coe here. Did he lie about not knowing about depth of problems? "No."
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) January 14, 2016
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Pound defends Coe again with regards to the current president’s glowing praise of his predecessor upon taking office.
“I think you always praise the predecessor,” he says, insisting Coe’s homage to Lamine Diack is irrelevant.
Still seems a bit contradictory, having insisted there was a cover-up and that the IAAF is in denial.
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Pound asked if the IAAF is in denial?
“Yes.”
He goes back to the point that it was not a few rogue individuals, “this started with the president, then the treasurer, then the personal adviser of the president, then the director of anti-doping … you have to take that on board and come out the other side.”
Pound is asked about Coe saying no IAAF cover-up- “Organisation is in denial. Of course there was a cover-up ..."
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) January 14, 2016
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Somewhere in there Pound also dodge a question about Paula Radcliffe, who felt she was forced to deny doping after being linked to the leaked database.
Pound is now being asked about what seems to be a contradiction between why Coe is the best man to lead the IAAF despite the failures of its council.
“I don’t want to lay the failures of an entire council at the feet of one individual. I don’t think that would be fair. You learn from experience.”
He’s now referring to the governance failure’s of the International Olympic Committee during the Salt Lake City scandal and then says he believes that ‘there is all the good will in the world’ for the IAAF to clean up athletics.
That’s some endorsement of Coe from Pound, considering he reiterated that the IAAF council could not have been unaware. Read more here …
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Pound asked if Lord Coe’s position remains tenable …
He reiterates his position that the IAAF council could not have been unaware but, with regards to Coe says ‘it’s a chance to seize the opportunity and move forward’ and says with regards to Coe, he can’t think of ‘anyone better to do that’.
“If Russia takes the matters seriously and focuses on getting its act together, [they can return to the Olympics],” says Pound.
Pound says the IAAF was ‘suitably reactive to atypical results’ in the time period in question. He says the commission does not share the views expressed that the iAAF was inadequate in response to blood doping in period under review”.
On Sun Times database: "The Commission does not share the views expressed that theIAAF was inadequate in its responses to blood doping"
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) January 14, 2016
Time for questions from the floor …
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Pound begins by urging IAAF to accept responsibility and says knowledge of Russian scandal was far wider than acknowledge and questions the appetite within the IAAF to solve the problem. He adds a caveat that some members of the IAAF did, including Huw Roberts and Thomas Capadeivelle.
“I’m troubled by unwillingness of IAAF to accept and assume responsibility.”
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McLaren is now talking about the scheme to cover up a positive test by the marathon runner Lilya Shubukhova in return for €450,000,
Her case, as well as one reported in Turkey, may be ‘just the tip of the iceberg’ when it comes to examples of extortion such as this. McLaren then hands back to Pound.
Independent Commission says Shubhokhova case may well have been the "tip of the iceberg" when it comes to extortion of athletes.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) January 14, 2016
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McLaren continues: “We recommend a forensic examination be undertaken by IAAF.”
While McLaren rows over the finer points of both the Diacks’ dealings, here’s a review of the findings of the report:
• Lamine Diack, the former president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), was “responsible for organising and enabling the conspiracy and corruption that took place in the IAAF.”
• Diack appeared to have created a close inner circle which functioned as “an informal illegitimate governance structure” outside the IAAF.
• Diack sanctioned and appeared to have had personal knowledge of the fraud and the extortion of athletes carried out by the actions of the illegitimate governance structure he put in place.
• The IAAF had an inadequate governance process in place to prevent the corruption that occurred and the checks and balances of good governance were missing.
• There appeared to be no governance rules or policies regarding the employment of family members of senior IAAF staff
• It was “completely improper governance” to allow supervision of suspected Russian doping cases to be separately managed by the IAAF President’s personal legal counsel.
• The commission found it would not have been legally possible to bring successful sanctioning processes against any athlete based on the information contained in the IAAF database
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McLaren continues, “the disruption came from the very top, Lamine Diack”.
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Pound hands over to sports lawyer Richard McLaren to discuss the criminal aspect of the report. He says it goes beyond sporting corruption. “The time for reform and not for denial is now.”
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Pound reveals it was the commission’s decision to approach Interpol, who in turn suggested contacting the French prosecutor.
IAAF President Lord Coe is in the room to hear findings of World Anti-Doping Agency's Independent Commission. pic.twitter.com/dBaG0dTOcJ
— Kenny Stewart (@KennySkyNews) January 14, 2016
Pound reveals Wada received the report on Monday and says that Wada were not able to commment on the report. He also says that only IAAF were given prior notice (24 hours).
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The press conference is now under way. An Interpol representative is present as the MC confirms that the French prosecutor will speak after the press conference.
Dick Pound begins proceedings … he thanks everyone for coming before getting down to it.
And here’s Owen Gibson’s first take from Munich …
The first part of the report confirms much of what was outlined in last week’s ethics commission report into how the IAAF president’s son, his lawyer and the head of its anti doping unit covered up doping violations and extorted money from the Russian marathon runner Lillya Shubokhova but also includes the tantalising detail that Lamine Diack told IAAF legal chief Hugh Roberts that the delay in sanctioning Russian athletes had put him in a “difficult position” that could only be resolved through his friendship with Vladimir Putin. As revealed by the Guardian last week, the cabal tried a similar extortion trick on Turkish 2012 1500m gold medallist Asli Alptekin.
The report says that the IAAF Council, of whom Coe was a member: “The IAAF Council could not have been unaware of the extent of doping in athletics and the non-enforcement of applicable anti-doping rules”. It also says: “The IAAF Council could not have been unaware of the level of nepotism that operated within the IAAF”.
The report is damning of the IAAF and the extent to which those within the organisation have admitted knowing the full extent of the problems with Russian doping and suggests it is stil in denial.
“There was far greater knowledge within the IAAF of problems in Russia than it was willing to acknowledge,” it concludes. The “rogue individuals” defence and the idea that IAAF staff were “all but blameless” and “truly shocked” when they discovered level of corruption is not tenable. “It is increasingly clear that far more staff knew about the problems than has been currently acknowledged,” it says. “The circle of knowledge of the offending conduct within the IAAF is much larger than has been acknowledged”.
Nick Davies, the former deputy secretary general and Coe’s right hand man, comes in for particular criticism. He stood down in December when an email emerged suggesting he was conspiring with Papa Massata Diack over the announcement of Russian doping bans around the Moscow 2013 world championships. When the commission interviewed Davies in June 2015 he did not mention any knowledge of delays or “Russian skeletons in the cupboard”.
Here’s an excerpt of the Wada report that has caught the attention of the Guardian’s Owen Gibson.
Pound report: IAAF in denial... pic.twitter.com/3KK9S4pN2T
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) January 14, 2016
As reported earlier by the AP, the report finds that the IAAF council, which includes the organisation’s current president Lord Coe, “could not have been unaware of the extent of doping in athletics”.
This is what we’re waiting for. Press conference due at 2pm …
More now on the news that France has issued an international wanted notice via Interpol for Papa Massata Diack …
The French arrest warrant for Papa Massata Diack which has been transmitted as an international wanted alert via Interpol means he could be arrested if he travels outside his home country of Senegal, especially to European Union countries with which France’s legal authorities work closely.
In November, French prosecutor Eliane Houlette told The Associated Press that authorities had planned to arrest Papa Massata Diack at around the same time that they also took his father into custody, in a hotel room, in November.
“We didn’t arrest Mr. Diack’s son because he didn’t come to Paris when he was meant to. But he is also implicated in this affair,” she said. “We haven’t had the opportunity to arrest him in France. We would have done so if we could.”
The Interpol alert is based on a French arrest warrant that was issued for Papa Massata Diack in December.
Lord Coe has travelled to Munich today, whether he responds to the Wada report remains to be seen but he is sure to be faced with some uncomfortable questions. Have a read of the excellent Marina Hyde on the challenges he faces following today’s imminent report.
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Findings from Wada’s report we’re expecting today, after the Associated Press revealed they had seen details of the 89-page investigation:
- That there was no way members of the world athletics governing body’s council, which included the current president Sebastian Coe, could have been unaware of the extent of doping and non-enforcement of the rules in track and field.
- That Lamine Diack, told a lawyer he would need to cut a deal with the Russian president Vladimir Putin to ensure nine Russian athletes accused of doping would not compete at the 2013 world championships in Moscow.
- That there was a sudden increase from $6m to $25m (£17.4m) for Russian rights to televise the 2013 world championships provided by a Russian bank.
The French prosecutor will apparently also speak after the press conference in Munich. Here’s the latest from the Associated Press which reveals France has issued an international wanted notice via Interpol for Papa Massata Diack.
France has issued an international wanted notice via Interpol for Papa Massata Diack, the son of former IAAF President Lamine Diack, saying he is wanted for corruption and money laundering.
The French request was lodged last month. The so-called Red Notice is posted on Interpol’s website. That alerts Interpol’s members that Diack is wanted in France.
The notice says the former IAAF marketing consultant is “wanted by the judicial authorities of France for prosecution to serve a sentence.”
France’s national financial prosecutor told The Associated Press last year that Papa Massata Diack is suspected of being actively involved in a bribery and blackmail scheme also allegedly involving his father when he presided over the governing body of track and field. The elder Diack was arrested in France last November and subsequently charged with corruption and money laundering. Also under criminal investigation in France are Diack’s former legal counsel, Habib Cisse, and the IAAF’s former director of anti-doping, Gabriel Cisse.
Let’s have a re-cap of the events of the 10 days or so.
5 Jan: Coe unveils a “reform roadmap” that promises to double the IAAF’s anti-doping budget in the next six months.
7 Jan: Papa Massata Diack, the son of the former longstanding president Lamine (Coe’s successor); the former Russia athletic federation head and IAAF treasurer, Valentin Balakhnichev, and Alexei Melnikov, the former head coach of Russia’s race-walking and long-distance running programmes receive life bans from the IAAF for inflicting “unprecedented damage” on athletics.
11 Jan: UK Athletics calls for all world records to be reset due to the ongoing doping crisis, two days after Mo Farah demands life bans for all drug cheats.
11 Jan: The Guardian reveals that Papa Massata Diack, who acted as a marketing consultant for the IAAF, had apparently sent an email to International Olympic Committee members in 2008 arranging for “parcels” to be delivered to senior IOC members.
12 Jan: The Associated Press reports that the IAAF considered hiding Russian doping bans from the public before London 2012 and recognised that more than 42% of all tested elite athletes from the country were cheating.
13 Jan: Coe denies any ‘cover-up’ at the IAAF and denies suggestions he is underestimating the seriousness of the crisis engulfing athletics’ governing body.
Good afternoon. Dick Pound, formerly the president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, will shortly hold a press conference following the release of the second part of his report into the doping scandal currently engulfing athletics. Whereas the first part focused on Russian state-sponsored doping, the second part will focus more on attempted cover-ups within athletics’ governing body, the IAAF.
Earlier, the Associated Press reported that they have been provided details of the 89-page investigation and the news agency claims that the report will conclude that there was no way members of the world athletics governing body’s council, which included the current president Sebastian Coe, could have been unaware of the extent of doping and non-enforcement of the rules in track and field.
Coe has travelled to Munich, along with the Guardian’s Owen Gibson, who is expecting more uncomfortable questions for the former London 2012 chief.
Sebastian Coe, the president of world athletics’ embattled governing body, will be under further pressure on Thursday as fresh allegations are outlined of widespread corruption at the heart of the sport.
The crisis facing world athletics has grown over the past two years to the level where many consider it to be worse than the turmoil enveloping Fifa that led to the downfall of Sepp Blatter, mass arrests by the US Department of Justice and a generation of executives being implicated in a $200m-plus bribery scandal.
Dick Pound, the former president of World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), is to present the second part of his report into systemic doping in Russia and attempted cover-ups at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). He is among those who believe the scandal in athletics is worse because it “affects the results on the field of play” as opposed to “moving money around like the Fifa boys”.
Read the full story here.
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