Russia’s fate to be decided in WADA meeting on December 9

IOC president Thomas Bach refuses to “speculate” on the outcome

Russia will discover on Monday whether it will be banished from sporting competitions, including the Olympic Games, for four years when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) holds a crunch meeting here.

WADA’s Executive Committee is expected to approve a recommendation by its Compliance Review Committee that Russia be handed a four-year suspension after accusing Moscow of falsifying laboratory doping data handed over to investigators earlier this year. Such a heavy sanction would see Russia ruled out of next year’s Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

Russian government officials would be barred from attending any major events, while the country would lose the right to host, or even bid, for tournaments.