Inside the Games Balakhnichev Rules out Further Appeal Against Life Ban from Athletics
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Inside the games Balakhnichev rules out further appeal against life ban from athletics • By Daniel Etchells • Tuesday, 22 August 2017 Former Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) President Valentin Balakhnichev has ruled out appealing against the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to uphold his life ban from athletics. Balakhnichev was one of three individuals to discover yesterday that CAS had dismissed their appeals against the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Ethics Commission's decision from January of last year. The two others were Papa Massata Diack, who was a marketing consultant to the IAAF and is the son of former IAAF President Lamine Diack, and Alexei Melnikov, the former chief RusAF coach for long distance walkers and runners. The trio filed appeals at CAS seeking the annulment of their life bans, imposed by the IAAF Ethics Commission which concluded that figures within the sport had been "guilty of blackmail" since 2011. The appeals were consolidated and referred to the same panel of CAS arbitrators who concluded that on the evidence adduced, the charges against Balakhnichev, Diack and Melnikov were established beyond reasonable doubt and that the sanctions imposed should be upheld. In November, Balakhnichev vowed to launch an appeal to the Swiss Supreme Court if CAS ruled against him. But the former IAAF treasurer has now told TASS he does not think there is any use in challenging the verdict. "We will think it over with my lawyer Artyom Patsev, but even when we were submitting an appeal to CAS I was well aware that the decision won't be in my favour given the geopolitical situation," Balakhnichev said. The CAS decision can be challenged only in the Swiss Federal Court, which cannot revoke the decision, but has the right to refer the case for re-examination in the event facts or violations to rules of procedure are revealed. Former IAAF anti-doping director Gabriel Dollé received a five-year ban following the world governing body's Ethics Commission's decision. The quartet were charged in relation to payments totalling approximately £435,000 ($558,000/€474,000) made by Russia's Liliya Shobukhova, the 2010 London Marathon winner and a three-time Chicago Marathon champion, in order to cover-up doping violations. The RusAF had knowledge of Shobukhova's suspicious biological passport readings in 2011 but "abnormalities" were not announced until three years later, the IAAF Ethics Commission reported. Among events she is alleged to have competed at after suspicions were first raised and payments were taken was the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where she failed to finish the marathon. Lamine Diack is currently at the centre of a French investigation exploring allegations that he was at the centre of the cabal of IAAF officials accepting bribes in return for the covering up of Russian doping cases. An international arrest warrant remains in place for his son Papa Massata, who is believed to be in his native Senegal. http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1054399/balakhnichev-rules-out-further-appeal- against-life-ban-from-athletics Fancy Bears: Hackers name footballers given 2010 World Cup TUEs 22 Aug Gabriel Heinze (l) and Carlos Tevez (r) played together for Argentina in the 2010 World Cup Ex-Premier League players Carlos Tevez, Dirk Kuyt and Gabriel Heinze have been named by hackers Fancy Bears as three of the footballers cleared to use banned medicines at the 2010 World Cup. The trio were among 25 players given therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) during the tournament in South Africa. In its latest leaked documents, the Russian hacking group also claims 160 players failed drugs tests in 2015. Four of the failed tests were registered by UK Anti-Doping (Ukad). Three players tested positive for cocaine, and one for ecstasy. This is the first time Fancy Bears hackers have released details about TUEs in football. Tevez, now 33, was playing for Manchester City during the World Cup in 2010 having moved from Manchester United the previous year. His former Argentina team-mate Heinze, 39, was playing for French club Marseille, having previously spent three seasons at Old Trafford. Dutchman Kuyt, 37, was at Liverpool. There is no suggestion any of these footballers have done anything wrong. The latest hack includes an email from the Football Association's head of integrity, Jenni Kennedy, to the sport's world governing body Fifa. The FA said it was "disappointed that strictly confidential information has been released into the public domain" given the details in the email related to ongoing investigations. It added that whenever doing violations are uncovered, it released full details on its website as a matter of course. Fifa said it condemned "in the strongest terms" the release of material it said was obtained illegally. "The release of such information constitutes a clear violation of the athletes' privacy and puts at risk the ongoing fight against doping," it added. Nicole Sapstead, chief executive of Ukad, echoed Fifa's condemnation adding that "the theft of medical data is completely unacceptable and this leak does not advance the cause of the anti- doping community at all". Who used what during the 2010 World Cup? Tevez, Heinze and former Manchester United and Argentina midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron were prescribed betamethasone - a corticosteroid with a variety of uses. It does not feature directly on the World Anti-Doping Agency's (Wada) prohibited list, but is banned depending on the strength of the dose used. Kuyt, who retired from football in May, used dexamethasone, apparently for pain relief because of tooth problems. Germany international Mario Gomez needed salbutamol, which is a common asthma medication. Ex-New Zealand, Blackburn and QPR defender Ryan Nelsen, who is listed as 'Nelson' on the published form, declared the use of prednisone, another corticosteroid. There were no England players among the 25 names released by Fancy Bears. Dirk Kuyt won the League Cup during his six years at Liverpool What are therapeutic use exemptions? A TUE allows an athlete, for medical reasons, to take a prescribed substance or have treatment that is otherwise prohibited. Athletes must contact their national governing body before applying for a TUE. There are strict criteria for one to be granted: The athlete would suffer significant health problems without taking the substance. It would not be significantly performance-enhancing. There is no reasonable therapeutic alternative to its use. The need to use it is not due to prior use without a TUE. Ukad says it has "a number of robust controls in place to make it as difficult as possible" for athletes to misuse the system. What we have learned about the leaks What we know about 'Fancy Bears' The fight to keep sport clean Fancy Bears first hacked the Wada database last year, and in September began revealing athletes' confidential details and information regarding TUEs. British cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins was forced to defend himself in the face of scrutiny following the leak of his medical records. The IAAF - athletics' world governing body - then said in April it was hacked by the group earlier this year. Mo Farah, Helen Glover and Justin Rose were among the British athletes who had their medical files made public. Analysis BBC Sport's David Ornstein It was inevitable that Fancy Bears would eventually target the world's biggest sport, perhaps the only surprise being that it took so long. The statement on the Fancy Bears' website promises to prove that players and officials are "lying" when they "unanimously affirm" that football is free of doping. But, while concerning, this release is not exactly earth-shattering. There is no suggestion that any of the World Cup TUEs involve wrongdoing - but it may reignite the debate about whether the system can be abused. http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/41011854 LA VANGUARDIA Hackers rusos acusan a la FIFA y a la AMA de ocultar 350 positivos de futbolistas • El grupo de piratas informáticos “Fancy Bear” asegura que entre ellos hay cuatro jugadores del Madrid y cinco del Barça EFE,MOSCÚ Actualizado a 22-08-2017 19:51 El chileno Jean Beausejour pasa un control antidoping de la selección chilena (Carlos Parra / EFE) El grupo de piratas informáticos “Fancy Bear”, al que se relaciona con los servicios secretos rusos, acusó este martes a la FIFA y a la Agencia Mundial Antidopaje (AMA) de haber tapado al menos 350 positivos por dopaje entre 2015 y 2016, incluidos cuatro en el Real Madrid y cinco en el FC Barcelona,de los que no dice sus nombres, El famoso equipo de piratas informáticos -que según ha reconocido la propia Agencia Mundial Antidopaje (AMA) “hackeó” sus bases de datos en septiembre de 2016- publicó hoy en su web nuevas informaciones procedentes de esos archivos que comprometen la limpieza del deporte internacional. “Según los documentos de la AMA, más de 150 jugadores fueron pillados por dopaje en 2015. Al año siguiente, ese número se elevó hasta 200 deportistas”, denuncia “Fancy Bear”. Los piratas informáticos -que se hicieron famosos al revelar que 2016 que las tenistas Serena y Venus Williams y la gimnasta Simone Biles, entre muchos otros, consumen sustancias dopantes con permiso de la AMA- atacan ahora al mundo del fútbol, a menudo fuera de cualquier sospecha de dopaje. Los piratas informáticos revelaron en 2016 que las hermanas Williams y la gimnasta Simone Biles consumen sustancias dopantes con permiso de la AMA “Los futbolistas y los dirigentes (de fútbol) dicen al unísono que ese deporte está libre de dopaje. Nuestro equipo se lo ha tomado como un reto y ahora demostraremos que mienten”, afirma la declaración de los “hackers”. Según ese grupo, cuatro pruebas tomadas a jugadores del Real Madrid y otras cinco tomadas en el FC Barcelona entre 2015 y 2016 dieron positivo.