Four Years

I've been following this case as it's important. Today we have a final decision on Russia's doping case and it says 4 year ban from all major sporting events! The decision was made by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

source

We all know the antecedents that led to this decision, I don't have to go through this. While I believe each country has a few cases of doping, Russia has made a sport out of it and not only doping but also covering it up, destroying evidence and falsifying samples. This is not just doping, it's way more than that, it's conspiracy at the highest level.

According to the BBC reporter, the it was an unanimous decision made in 16 minutes, which means there was no doubt about Russia being guilty, the evidence to support the accusations was clear and enough.

Russia has now 21 days to appeal at the court of arbitration, the case can take months. I think Russia will appeal as otherwise it would mean to confess its guilt.

This ban means Russia will not be able to participate in the upcoming events like 2020 Olympics in Tokyo or the 2022 soccer World Cup in Qatar. It is a huge punishment for the country and for athletes too but they can compete under a neutral flag.

Despite the ban, Russia will be able to compete at Euro 2020 - in which St Petersburg will be a host city - as European football's governing body Uefa is not defined as a 'major event organisation' with regards to rulings on anti-doping breaches. source

This decision is unprecedented but much needed as this doping and tampering with evidence must stop once and for all. Sport should be as it was once. It is not fair to those athletes who are training hard and are clean.