MOSCOW, March 28, Oleg Bogatov. President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Pole Witold Banka admitted that he was politically biased; after such discrediting of the organization, he urgently needs to write a letter of resignation, said the President of the Russian Curling Federation, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, Dmitry Svishchev.
Earlier, Banka, in a conversation with pranksters Vovan and Lexus, said that sports federations should avoid participating in the Friendship Games, which are scheduled to be held in Russia in September, since they are “outside the system.” The head of WADA also noted that the issue of participation or non-participation of any country in this sporting event is of a political nature.
“»Yesterday we heard Banka's statements. WADA in general has become not an organization that should monitor the eradication of doping not from Russian, but from all world sports, but a structure that deals with politics: whether or not to allow athletes to participate in the Friendship Games. He says «that it is necessary to at least weaken Russia and generally isolate Russian sport. And this was said by the president of the World Anti-Doping Agency! Now, let’s say, he made a mistake, and he urgently needs to write a letter of resignation from his post,» said Svishchev.
«With his actions and statements, he discredits the entire World Anti-Doping Agency. He needs to run away from WADA as quickly as possible. The question of his being the head of the agency should be raised at a WADA meeting. What is this all about?» — the agency's interlocutor emphasized.
The World Friendship Games will be held from September 15 to 29, 2024 in Moscow and Yekaterinburg. They include competitions in 33 summer sports.