Moscow, Dec 16 (IANS): The International Biathlon Union (IBU) is going to take a decision on the Russian athletes suspected of doping before the end of 2016, IBU Vice President Olle Dahlin has said.
IBU President Anders Besseberg said that on Thursday the union received the list with the names of 31 Russian athletes suspected of doping by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), reports Sputnik.
"If someone deserves to be punished, we want this to happen as soon as possible. But everything should be done in accordance with the rules. Our decisions may then be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), so it is important that we have a legal basis. The aim is to decide before the New Year," Dahlin said on Thursday, as quoted by the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper.
He added that WADA's revelations were "saddening," but the situation could have been even more sad if they did not come to light.
On December 9, WADA's independent commission headed by Richard McLaren released the second part of the report on alleged Russian doping abuse, revealing manipulations by athletes in 30 sporting disciplines.
On Sunday, IBU announced that it had formed an expert working group to deal with the fresh doping allegations.