IAAF Turns Down Russia's Plea For Reinstatement, Doping Ban To Remain Till Further Notice

The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) on Monday turned down Russia's appeal for reinstatement for the 10th time and announced that the doping ban will remain on Russian athletes.

The decision was taken during a council meeting of top officials in Qatar. The ban was imposed in 2015 due to state-sponsored doping.

Rune Andersen, head of IAAF's doping task force, said two outstanding issues remained that needs to resolved first – the examination of data received from the Moscow anti-doping lab and the issue of costs being sought by Russia because of the scandal.

In a media release, the IAAF said that:

- payment of the outstanding costs. Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) has raised some logistical issues about payment. The IAAF will get these resolved shortly.
- receipt of the analytical data and any samples that the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) needs from the Moscow lab in order to determine which athletes have a case to answer under the IAAF anti-doping rules. The data is currently being processed and authenticated by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and WADA has committed to getting it to the AIU as a priority.

The release added that the task force, "also took note of the allegation from German television network ARD that some coaches from the old regime are involved again with coaching national team athletes.

"This runs counter to assurances the Taskforce has previously received from RusAF that it is disassociating itself from the old regime. The Taskforce will be asking RusAF for urgent clarification."

But other global sporting bodies such as the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), have revoked their own suspensions of Russia.