Sport Ireland says IOC comments on Russia are ‘deeply unhelpful’

Sport Ireland chief executive John Treacy has criticised International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach saying his remarks are "deeply unhelpful" and that the IOC are out of touch with anti-doping sentiments.

Treacy’s rebuke arrived in the wake of Bach signalling that Russia will not be banned from Tokyo 2020 even if a suspension is re-imposed on the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), who were guilty of state wide doping of athletes.

Access to the Moscow Laboratory before December 31st was a compulsory condition set when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) controversially lifted the suspension on September 20th. The December deadline was missed, leading to calls for RUSADA to be suspended again. That could lead to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) being banned from Tokyo 2020.

“Comments made yesterday by the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, which are extremely unhelpful, demonstrate why the IOC are out of touch with athletes,” said Treacy.

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“The comments also underline why the IOC should not be involved in the decision making when it comes to matters of anti-doping. It is now up to WADA to act decisively and quickly, otherwise there will be no consequence for a country that has been proven to operate a systematic doping regime.”

Sixteen national anti-doping organisations, including Sport Ireland, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, and USA called on the WADA to take a firm stance against Russia.