“There was neither intention nor negligence in the Valieva case, we are waiting for a warning from the CAS” – lawyer

In the case of a Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva there is no intention or negligence, therefore, a fair decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) would be to warn the athlete and preserve the verdict of the DAC RUSADA, Sergei Alekseev, Chairman of the Commission of the Russian Bar Association on sports law, told .

On Tuesday, the CAS began hearings into Valieva’s doping case. The appeals of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), the International Skating Union (ISU) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the decision of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) in the case of athlete were previously grouped into one procedure. Valieva, 17, is expected to participate in the hearing via video link.

— When examining the case of Kamila Valieva, the CAS must proceed from the following circumstances of the case. First: the arbitrators of the anti-doping disciplinary commission of RUSADA unanimously voted for the absence, in fact, of a doping violation on the part of the athlete, therefore liability was not applied to him with the exception of the cancellation of the result of the competition on the day of collection, i.e. December 25, 2021.

Second: all tests before and after the one mentioned above for Valieva were negative, that is, the athlete is completely clear from the point of view of doping control. It must be taken into account that the alleged entry of a prohibited substance could in no way affect the sporting result, and that such an objective did not exist a priori. The dose was found to be negligible.

Third: big questions for the Swedish anti-doping laboratory, which significantly delayed the examination of the sample and, in violation of current regulations, published the result precisely at the time between the team and individual competitions of the Olympic Games in Beijing. These circumstances raise serious doubts. That is, there is a possibility of “amount” from the Swedish laboratory, which in 2019 was already deprived of accreditation by WADA.

If a tiny dose of the drug enters the athlete’s body, no guilt in the form of intent or negligence is visible. And in this case, no responsibility is imposed, ”Alekseev told the correspondent.

Valieva at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing helped the Russian team win gold in the team competition. Before the personal tournament, it became known that the banned drug trimetazidine was found during the doping test of the figure skater of the Russian championship. In this regard, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) declared the results of the Olympic team tournament preliminary and postponed the award ceremony to the winners of the competition until the investigation into the matter is completed. The CAS admitted the Russian to 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) canceled Valieva’s result at the 2022 Russian Championship and concluded that the skater committed a violation of anti-doping rules, but it was “not her fault or negligence. Subsequently, RUSADA, WADA and ISU appealed the decision of RUSADA’s CAD to CAS. WADA demands that the Russian be suspended for four years.