Athletics Integrity Unit refers RusAF charges to the World Athletics Council and recommends considering expulsion of the Federation : Press Release / Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). - Monaco : AIU, 2019
29 January 2020, Monaco: The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) Board has today referred the charges issued by the AIU against the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) on 21 November 2019 to the World Athletics Council. In doing so, the AIU Board has made recommendations to the World Athletics Council to maintain the suspension of the Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) process until the charges are finally determined and, if the charges are upheld, to consider imposing the severest possible consequences, including considering the expulsion of RusAF from the membership of World Athletics.
These recommendations were made by the AIU Board after reviewing RusAF’s response to the Notice of Charge issued on 21 November 2019 which alleged a number of breaches by RusAF of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules relating to the involvement of RusAF officials and representatives in the submission of forged documents and false explanations to the AIU in connection with the Whereabouts Failures case of Russian athlete, Danil Lysenko.
RusAF filed a Preliminary Response to the AIU's Notice of Charge on 2 January 2020 and a Supplementary Response on 16 January 2020. RusAF had a total of eight weeks in which to respond to the charges, having been granted three extensions of time by the AIU in that
period.
The AIU Board considers in the circumstances that RusAF has had ample opportunity to put forward any material or evidence that it contends answers the AIU's case against it. So far, in the judgment of the AIU Board, it has not done so. The AIU Board has therefore concluded that the case to answer against RusAF for multiple breaches of its obligations under the Anti-Doping Rules remains unimpaired.
