“We all understand the purpose for which the United States, Canada and Japan wanted to observe the Valieva case. » Sports lawyer on the CAS decision

Sports lawyer Anna Antseliovich told that the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to deny representatives of the United States, Japan and Canada teams to be present at the hearing in the case of the Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva is expected and true.

Earlier, USA Today reporter Christina Brennan posted on social media a screenshot of a letter from CAS CEO Mathieu Riba denying the corresponding request from the US team.

– The CAS decision is quite predictable, there was no reason to satisfy this request. First, they are parties that can only observe, express their position and present evidence; they don’t have the right. Secondly, we are talking about a protected minor, for whom medical problems will be taken into account. That is, one way or another, the interests of the child are affected.

Thirdly, it could be perceived as pressure on the CAS and the arbitrators. We all understand the purpose for which the teams from the United States, Canada and Japan wanted to observe this case. They are not interested in the procedure itself and how it takes place, but in the decision that will be made. This would unintentionally influence the CAS arbitrators.

– Does this increase the chances of a positive outcome for Kamila Valieva’s team?

– It won’t make any difference. The only positive is that there will be no additional pressure. The decision was made in accordance with the objective rules of the court, and not because of a benevolent attitude towards Valieva, Antseliovich told .

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. In this regard, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the results of the Olympic Games team tournament as preliminary, and the award ceremony for the winners of the competition was postponed until the investigation of the case. The CAS allowed the Russian to participate in the individual competitions of the Games, where she took fourth place.

In January, it became known that the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (DAK RUSADA) overturned Valieva’s result at the 2022 Russian Championships and concluded that the skater had committed an anti-doping rule violation, but this did not was not the case. his fault or negligence. Subsequently, RUSADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Skating Union (ISU) appealed DAK RUSADA’s decision to CAS.

The appeals of RUSADA, ISU and WADA against the decision of DAK RUSADA in the case of figure skater Valieva were previously consolidated into one procedure. CAS has scheduled closed hearings with representatives of all parties on September 26, 27, 28 and 29, 2023.