NewRussia appeals to Swiss court over ban from Rio paralympics
Appeal to be heard on Monday, but Swiss court can only overturn on procedural mistake
Russia will appeal in the Swiss Federal Court on Monday against the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) decision to uphold a blanket ban on their athletes from competing in next month’s Rio Paralympics.
“The appeal has been launched in the Swiss court,” the Interfax news agency quoted Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) president Vladimir Lukin as saying on Friday.
Earlier this week the Lausanne-based CAS, sport’s highest tribunal, rejected an RPC appeal against the suspension that was handed out by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) because of a state-sponsored sports doping programme.
The Federal Court can only overturn the CAS ruling on the basis of a procedural mistake and not on the merits of the case.
The decision to exclude Russia’s team means at least 260 competitors from the country are now set to miss the September 7-18 Paralympics.
The IPC went further than the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which stopped short of a blanket ban on Russia at the Rio Olympics that ended on Sunday and left the decision instead in the hands of international sports federations.