The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had dealt a serious blow to Russian sports by imposing a four-year ban on Monday, so Moscow’s reaction needs to be tough, a deputy speaker of the Russian parliament said.
Earlier in the day WADA’s executive committee announced it has decided to ban Russian athletes for competing in international events. The nation itself will not be allowed to host such competitions as well.
The punishment comes in response to anti-doping officials finding inconsistencies in the raw data provided by the Russian national watchdog RUSADA. Moscow sport officials believe the database may have been manipulated from outside of the country by former RUSADA employees, who retained access even after fleeing to the US.
