The World Anti-Doping Agency is expected to call for the power to set its own sanctions against non-compliant countries in the wake of this summer’s farce over Russia’s involvement in the Rio Olympics.
Sunday’s meeting in Glasgow of its board, at which the president, Sir Craig Reedie, is expected to be re-elected for another three-year term, is due to feature discussion of a paper that recommends more powers for Wada.
It is set to be the latest round in a bruising debate over the future of the anti-doping movement after the International Olympic Committee ignored Wada’s recommendation that Russia be banned from the Rio Games over the systemic state-sponsored doping programme uncovered by Professor Richard McLaren’s report. Wada came under vicious, coordinated attack from IOC members in Rio and again last week in Doha at a meeting of the Association of National Olympic Committees.
The IOC has been leading its own series of Olympic summits to try to plot a way forward for anti-doping, but appears reluctant to give up control of its power over whether countries can compete in the Games.
Under its proposal, Wada would define “non-compliance” for the first time on a sliding scale of seriousness and be given the power to set sanctions ranging from warnings and fines to full suspension of a country in the event of industrial scale state-sponsored doping.
Reedie has promised to battle on as Wada president despite being attacked from both sides, with critics not seeing him as independent enough given his IOC membership. He has also faced blame from the “Olympic family” for recommending the Russia ban in the wake of McLaren’s report.
Wada is also expected to highlight its determination to focus on investigations of the kind that led to the eventual exposure of the full scale of state-sponsored doping in Russia, albeit only after the media led the way.
The recent appointment of Günter Younger, a former head of the cybercrimes unit for the German police, as director of intelligence and investigations is set to lead to a renewed focus in that area, with plans to increase the unit’s staff from two to six. But greater concentration on investigations will also require greater funding. Reedie has previously suggested that broadcasting and sponsorship income could help add to its $30m (£24.5m) budget, currently split equally between the IOC and governments from around the world.
But following the recent Olympic Summit called by Thomas Bach, the IOC president appeared to downplay that idea. Bach has also defended the IOC’s handling of the crisis in the summer, saying he was comfortable with the decision to allow individual sports to decide whether to allow Russian athletes to compete.
The global anti-doping watchdog is due to discuss its governance arrangements, amid calls for greater independence from sport, and publish a full whistleblower’s policy for the first time, including details of the protection and support Wada will provide.
Britain’s sports minister, Tracey Crouch, will attend the meeting on Sunday, the first since she was appointed as one of five government representatives from Europe. “It is vital that we take a unified approach to tackle doping in sport and work together across countries and continents to ensure best practice in testing, education and intelligence,” Crouch said. “The integrity of sport is absolutely paramount and the message has to be clear - that drug cheats will have no place to hide.”
