Sports court lowers Russia's doping ban to 2 years

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ordered on Thursday that Russia's four-year-ban for doping scandal has been lowered to two years.

In a statement, CAS said Russia's ban -- previously imposed by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) in 2019 -- was reduced to two years over the Russian anti-doping body's objection to the WADA's sanction.

Russia will complete its international ban on Dec. 16, 2022 but in this period Russian anthem can not be played or sung in any official event, CAS added.

Similarly, the Russian flag cannot appear on any uniform as well, but the uniforms contain the words "neutral athlete", it added.

Following Thursday's CAS ruling, Russia will miss several major sporting contests such as next summer's 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The 2022 World Cup will be played in November and December, with the final match scheduled for Dec. 18.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup's host nation Russia cannot play in Qatar 2022 but will enter the European football championship, UEFA EURO 2020, which will be held in June and July 2021.

In November 2015, the International Association of Athletics Federations banned Russia due to evidence of state-sponsored doping.

Since 2015, Russia as a nation has been banned in athletics.

In December 2019, WADA handed a four-year ban to Russia as the country did not take the necessary steps after the 2015 doping scandal.

In March, the World Athletics fined the Russian Athletics Federation with a $10 million fee for violating the anti-doping rule.