The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision on Friday (NZ-time) to halve what would have been a four-year ban on the repeat-offending doping Russian Federation has many prominent sports writers declaring the country’s Olympic ban to be not worth the rag it’s been printed on.
Russia in 2016 got caught red-handed running the biggest government-sponsored doping operation in the history of the modern Olympic Games. However, despite having been busted twice since then, Russia’s participation in the Olympics has never actually been shut down.
Russia in 2018 caught the attention of the International Olympic Committee when an anti-doping lab belonging to the Russian team got discovered and ousted. The punishment was however no more than Russia being ordered to keep their flag and anthem out of that year’s Winter Games in PyeongChang. Russian athletes were however still permitted to compete.
Then, not too long after the 2018 Winter Games, yet another Russian anti-doping lab got busted – this time round for tampering with the very evidence that was supposed to prove that Russia had flipped over a new (clean) leaf. Even though the court ruled that Russia had been guilty on all counts of data-tampering, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) yet again responded with something very near a mere slap on the wrist.
Even more shocking is that the original order issued by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruling ordered individual Russian athletes to prove their innocence in the state-sponsored doping debacle, has been amended to the effect that WADA has now been burdened with proving their guilt.
The only victory the court seems to have achieved was to make it easy for the offenders to be spotted at next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. Russian athletes will next year be sporting jerseys with Neutral Athlete pasted across the front.
| # | Site | Bonus | Bet | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Ladbrokes |  | 5/5 | 100% Match up to $250 | Bet now Review |
| 2 |  | Betway | | 4.9/5 | Up to $60 NZD | Bet now Review |
| 3 |  | Palmerbet | | 4.8/5 | 100% Match | Bet now Review |
| 4 |  | Picklebet | | 4.6/5 | Login to see promotions | Bet now Review |
More About Lauren Ball
An avid writer and sports betting enthusiast, Lauren Ball has found the ideal way to combine the two. As a regular contributor and resident OnlineBettingNZ.co.nz expert, Lauren is now putting her considerable wisdom to good use, and keeps punters informed as to what’s hot and happening in the online betting and sporting world.
From the latest sports results to any upsets or developments in the betting world, Lauren makes it her business to know what’s going on in the industry and share it with those who have the same interests.
You May Also Like:
The Future Of Sports Betting
When it comes to the future of sports betting, things are changing quickly. This is thanks to new technologies and changing customer habits. People are betting on sports in novel ….
Gymnast Faces Ban Over Offensive Symbol
The behaviour of Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak, who openly wore a symbol in support of his country’s invasion of the Ukraine while on the medal podium at the Apparatus World ….
Sportsbet Fined $3.7 Million For Spam
Australian authorities have slapped online bookmaker Sportsbet with $3.7 million in fines for sending unwanted (spam) gambling ads to users. The bookie reportedly sent more than 150,000 promotional emails and ….
UK Sport Chair Weighs In On Future Funding
Future funding for winter sports participated in by athletes from Great Britain will be funded not only on account of medals won at the Beijing Winter Olympics, but also according ….
New York Times To Buy Athletic For $550M
The New York Times has confirmed that it has indeed tabled an offer to acquire the subscription-based online sports site the Athletic. The agreed purchase price has apparently been pegged ….