CAS bans Russian doping 'mastermind' for life

Mar 14, 2017 06:00 am

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said yesterday it had issued a life ban against doctor Sergei Portugalov, an alleged mastermind of state-sponsored doping in Russian track and field.

The Lausanne-based court said in a statement it had slapped Portugalov with a "lifetime period of ineligibility" beginning March 10, 2017, for having supplied athletes with banned substances.

The CAS said that Portugalov, who had served as the head of the Russian athletics federation's medical commission, had been found to have violated several articles of the IAAF anti-doping regulations, including the possession, trafficking and administration of prohibited substances.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said Portugalov was "very active in the conspiracy to cover up athletes' positive tests in exchange for a percentage of their winnings".

The agency added that Portugalov administered the doping programmes and "even injected athletes himself".

Russia has been barred from international track and field competition, including the Rio Olympics, since November 2015, following the damning Wada report presenting evidence of state-sponsored doping in the sport.  - AFP