On Thursday evening, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued release, which announced that the hearings in the case of a doping violation of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva were postponed until November 9-10.
A document distributed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on the eve of the hearings stated that they would last three days — September 26-28, but if necessary, a fourth one can be used — on September 29. However, the need, in all likelihood, turned out to be too great.
“The panel of arbitrators in charge of this case heard the parties — the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), the International Skating Union (ISU), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Ms. Valieva, their experts and witnesses,” the statement said. “After the presentation of evidence parties, the panel has ordered the production of new documents and, to give the parties an opportunity to review them and respond, has allocated two additional days for hearings. These will continue on November 9 and 10 in Lausanne. At that time, the collection of evidence will be completed and the panel will hear the parties' closing submissions. Then the panel will discuss and prepare a verdict.»
The parties, as expected, do not comment on the break. WADA emphasized that it continues to insist on the speedy completion of the procedure and the maximum punishment for the Russian figure skater — a four-year disqualification. RUSADA stated that it does not provide comments until the decision is made. The ISU has not yet issued statements, and Valieva has not made them before — hints about her side’s position appeared only in a release from CAS preceding the hearing.
Perhaps now different versions will arise as to why the Court of Arbitration for Sport needed additional a month and a half, contrary to the initial intention to wrap up the case in three — maximum four days. But all this will be fortune-telling. Only the lawyers representing the parties know in detail what is happening. Therefore, making forecasts in this case is a thankless task.
But — whether this is an accident or not — on Thursday, in parallel with the third day of CAS meetings on the Valieva case, a detail emerged into the information space that could somewhat change the balance in the process or at least hint at the role of some organizations in this case. The source said that the Russian figure skater was informed of a suspected anti-doping violation not in accordance with the international standard for processing doping test results. According to this document, notification of an adverse analytical finding and a suspected doping violation must be sent simultaneously to the athlete, the international federation (in this case the ISU), WADA and the national anti-doping organization (in this case RUSADA). According to the source, such a notification first came to WADA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC, since the athlete was at the Olympics), and then to the coaching staff of Eteri Tutberidze.
Another coincidence — in the Nikulinsky Court of Moscow preliminary hearings were held on the claim of the doctor of the Russian figure skating team at the 2022 Olympics, Philip Shvetsky, against the German journalist Hajo Seppelt. And this case is directly related to the trial in Lausanne: Shvetsky defends his honor and dignity, since the German in his own film clearly hinted that he considers the doctor guilty in the Valieva case.
“I was demonized at the suggestion of an “anti-doping fighter” whose intentions I generally respect. He is doing the right thing. Therefore, I want to direct him to the path of truth, because truth is the engine of progress. Secondly, I was demonized by the Western press, after which it switched to the Russian one. As a result, more than 60 Russian sources categorically stated that I was an instrument for doping Valieva. As a result, the demonization reaches the point where there are assumptions in the state doping system. Which is not, was not and will not be. But I I would like to emphasize that I am not shifting the blame onto anyone. By removing it from myself, I am also removing it from the athletes,» Shvetsky said after the main hearing was scheduled for November 17.
Accident is, they say, a special case of a pattern, but whether there is a connection between all these events will become clear later. Moreover, exactly when is still unknown. CAS does not set any time frame for rendering a verdict. And even if it happens that Valieva finds out her future sporting fate, say, before the end of the year, the question of how to redistribute medals — if, of course, it arises in the event of a decision unfavorable for the skater — will not receive an immediate answer. It has been said many times about the lack of instructions in the ISU regulations for such cases. Should only one athlete's result be annulled? Should the entire team be disqualified? Or rely on the rule that applies to team tournaments in general, according to it, the result of a team is canceled only if doping was detected in two or more of its members. So it is possible that the current proceedings in CAS will not be the last.
But what is definitely good is that CAS clearly did not succumb to the pressure to which he was subjected by those who want quick reprisals against Valieva and the entire Russian team. The US team was banging the empty cases of their silver medals — on the eve of the hearings, American figure skater Vincent Zhou issued a piercing manifesto about distrust of the entire world anti-doping system (albeit with a set of factual errors) due to the fact that, you see, he has to wait too long, accused other Russian skaters of using prohibited drugs, and WADA, after this libel, essentially supported him. And nothing — the CAS panel, consisting of an Australian-British, an American and a Frenchman, despite the suspicions of some observers of bias, is in no hurry, but, obviously, wants to understand the complicated case, apparently, properly. If they wanted to drown Kamila, they definitely could have done it without unnecessary delays. So the month and a half time-out, whatever one may say, inspires hope for justice.