Antseliovich: “I expected that Soga’s conclusion, which confirmed Valieva’s version, would at least be announced by the CAS”

Lawyer Anna Antseliovich told that she expects the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to announce the conclusion of former anti-doping laboratory director Marcial Soga, which could lead to an acquittal in the case of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva.

Earlier, the Associated Press, citing sources, reported that the results of Soga’s scientific study, which could have led to an acquittal in the case of Valieva, who was disqualified for an anti-doping rule violation, were not included in the CAS statement.

— In a CAS decision, they usually write that they present the main facts and positions of the parties that they consider important for making a decision, and also make a reservation that in certain circumstances there may be more arguments and that they were taken into account. But at the same time, they do not indicate them, because they believe that they did not influence the decision. As far as I understand, Soga’s examination was not recorded because it would not have influenced the decision of the arbitrators, who considered this version unproven.

It is difficult for me to say why Soga’s expertise did not influence the decision. Whether it was the conscience and discretion of the CAS arbitrators who made the decision. There may be legal, factual or political reasons that did not convince them. “I would of course expect that such an important conclusion from one of the leading experts in the anti-doping field, who confirmed the athlete’s version, would at least have been announced by CAS and that there would have been an assessment of why this opinion cannot be trusted,” Antseliovich told .

In late January, CAS suspended Valieva for four years for violating anti-doping rules. The Russian’s suspension period begins on December 25, 2021, and her results have been void since that date. The athlete was deprived, among other things, of gold at the 2022 Beijing Olympics in the team tournament and the 2022 European Championship.

The Russian team won the team tournament at the 2022 Games, but after Valieva was disqualified for an anti-doping rule violation, the results of the competition were revised. The International Skating Union (ISU), after overturning Valieva’s results, placed the American team in first place, the Japanese team in second place, and the Russian team was supposed to receive bronze. The Canadian team, ranked fourth, also claimed third place and appealed the ISU decision to CAS, but it was rejected. The Russian team retained the bronze medals.

More sports news in our telegram channel .