A sports lawyer explained why the American team sent a request to the CAS in the Valieva case

US figure skating team will not be able to pressure Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) representatives in case of Russian woman Kamila Valieva but the Americans, by their actions, are trying to signal that their skaters are interested in the outcome of the meeting, sports lawyer Anna Antseliovich told .

Journalist Kristin Brennan previously reported that the US team had asked the CAS for a seat to represent them at the upcoming hearing in the case of Russian figure skater Valieva. The letter addressed to CAS CEO Matthew Reeba was signed by the American skaters who competed in the team tournament at the 2022 Olympics: Nathan Chen, Karen Chen, Vincent Zhou, Madison Hubbel and others.

– What is your opinion, why did the American team write a petition to the CAS?

– I think that in its statement to CAS, the American side indicates that its skaters are directly interested in the result. They want the process to be conducted fairly, impartially, etc. It’s all about Olympic gold.

– Can the Americans put pressure on the CAS arbitrators in this way?

— It’s quite difficult to do, because the CAS is made up of experienced and seasoned lawyers. But they may feel some psychological discomfort, realizing that their every word will be recorded and if something is said wrong it can then be used in the press.

The American team is not a third party in the matter, it cannot appeal the CAS decision on its own, but it can put pressure on the participants, indicating that there have been discrepancies in the review of the case.

It is important to understand at what stage the Americans submitted the petition. If this happened recently, they can only participate as observers. But the parties must express their consent to this. If either party disagrees, and it most likely does, then that matter will be left to the discretion of the arbitrators. As observers, the American team will not be able to call witnesses, present its position and submit motions, therefore from a legal point of view it will not be able to particularly influence the process itself, – said Antseliovich “.

The appeals of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), the International Skating Union (ISU) and the International Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the decision of the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee (DAK RUSADA) in the Valieva case have been previously combined into a single procedure. CAS has scheduled closed hearings with representatives of all parties on September 26, 27, 28 and 29, 2023.

Valieva at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing helped the Russian team win gold in the team competition. Before the personal tournament, it became known that the illegal drug trimetazidine was found during the doping test of the Russian championship figure skater. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ruled that team tournament medals will not be awarded until Valieva’s case is closed. The American team took second place in the competition, the Japanese won the bronze medal.