World Anti-Doping Agency accused of blackmailing Olympic host France

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Sep 2023 23:33

WADA has the power to decertify national anti-doping agencies, which in turn risks a country's athletes' ability to participate in international competitions.

The logo of World Anti-Doping Agency at the headquarters of the organization in Montreal, Canada. (AFP)

AFP reported on Wednesday that a letter has caused a rift between anti-doping authorities in France and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after the latter accused the authorities of being lenient and threatened them with action ahead of the Olympics in Paris due to take place next year.

Details of the tension between the Montreal-based global doping watchdog and the French authorities responsible for enforcing the restrictions were disclosed by AFP.

Back in July, the WADA wrote to the French anti-doping agency, the AFLD, a letter containing three cases that it claimed displayed inconsistencies with international standards - warning it to "change its behavior in the future" or face non-compliance procedures, per AFP.

WADA has the power to decertify national anti-doping agencies, which in turn risks a country's athletes' ability to participate in international competitions.

In response, the independent disciplinary commission, which is responsible for managing investigations conducted by the AFLD, issued a rebuke to WADA, saying in its statement to AFP that WADA never challenged any of the hundreds of decisions issued by the commission since its establishment in 2018.

It added that the threat of non-compliance action just a year before the Summer Olympics in Paris amounted to "real blackmail."

The AFLD, however, also described the correspondence as a "reminder of the rules that apply to all anti-doping organizations around the world."

France Summer Olympics not devoid of scandals

The Summer Olympics in France are due to launch with a rough start as scandals against it keep racking up. First, the swimming stage in the Seine River being prepared for competitions has been canceled multiple times due to the severe pollution and excessive E. coli bacteria in the water even though organizers believe that it will still be ready for the Olympics.

"Water quality in the Seine has remained below acceptable standards for safeguarding swimmers' health," a statement issued by World Aquatics read.

Second, the Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024 (COJOP) is under siege after a wave of searches conducted in June as part of two preliminary investigations headed by the Parquet National Financier (France's national financial prosecutor, PNF) have raised the possibility that the event's key figures would be implicated in corruption even before the competition begins.

Several contracts awarded by the Paris bidding committee (GIP 2024) and COJOP are being investigated for illegal conflicts of interest, favoritism, and theft of public funds. They also concentrate on the conflicts of interest that resulted from the departures of Etienne Thobois (current CEO of COJOP) and Edouard Donnelly (executive director of operations) from their former business Keneo, which they co-founded in 2008.