– An exception cannot be made for Norway

Russian media are involved in Norway’s anti-doping crisis – which in the worst case means no to international sports competitions on Norwegian soil and no to Norwegian participants in the Olympics/Paralympics.

– The Norwegians consider themselves an elite who can afford anything. I will applaud if this happens, says the old biathlon king Aleksandr Tikhonov to the Tass news agency.

Several prominent Russian sports leaders claim that it will be bloody unfair if Norway is not punished in the same way as other nations – read Russia.

It was NRK that on Thursday was able to reveal that Norway is in doping trouble. Briefly, the situation is as follows:

• An interpretation of the law means that athletes between the ages of 15 and 18 cannot be tested for doping without their parents’ consent.
• This has led to the fact that no one under legal age has been tested unannounced in the last two years and that Antidoping Norway therefore does not meet the anti-doping code.
• Now sports president Berit Kjøll and Thorhild Widvey, chairman of Antidoping Norway, have sent letters to ministers Anette Trettebergstuen and Kjersti Toppe in which they claim that Norway’s deviation from the international anti-doping code could have major consequences in the fairly near future, perhaps as early as the turn of the year.
• In the worst case, Norway may lose the right to participate in the Olympics, Paralympics or other championships, or lose the right to organize competitions itself. But there can also be less serious penalties.

The NRK case has received tremendous attention in Russia, which has been banned from several Olympic Games as a result of the organized doping that was revealed leading up to and during the Sochi Olympics in 2014.

– The rules must be the same for everyone

– We will see what happens next. If the Norwegians are told that “you can do anything” and simply turn a blind eye to what is happening, then this is wrong, says the former cross-country star Aleksandr Legkov.

– The rules must be the same for everyone. How is it that this law has been in force in Norway for two years already? We thought that the laws were the same rules everywhere, says Legkov to Match TV, quoted by championat.ru.

Several politicians from Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party have spoken out:

– Norway’s anti-doping work is an enigma. Everyone guesses that there is something wrong with asthma and medical exemptions from the rules. In this case, there seems to be no doubt – young people from 15 to 18 years old are not tested – that’s the law they have, says Svetlana Zjurova, now a prominent politician, former Olympic figure skating champion.

– Must be sanctions

To Tass, she states that “if WADA is consistent and really wants to fight doping, and this is confirmed, then there must be sanctions”.

– I know the rules well. With us there is no problem, not even in the USA. WADA must look into this, says figure skating legend – now politician – Irina Rodnina to Match TV.

A well-known sports politician, Dmitry Svishchev from the ultra-nationalist party LDPR, tells Match TV:

– Russia can advise Norway to change its legislation in such a way as to avoid sanctions from WADA.

– Can WADA really sanction the Norwegians – including banning them from the Olympics? he is asked by the Russian TV channel.

– Not only can, they must do it if Norway does not make changes to the legislation, replies the prominent politician.

– An exception cannot be made for Norway

– All countries have accepted the rules of the game, and no exception can be made for Norway. If WADA does not do this, the entire principle of the world anti-doping system will be violated.

Both former IOC top athlete Vitalij Smirnov and diving legend Jelena Vajtsekhovskaja state that “cross-country skiing is going to die if neither Russia nor Norway is involved”.

– Good dialogue

Secretary General Nils Einar Aas of the Norwegian Sports Confederation will not comment on the Russians’ statements, but has faith in a solution to the problem:

– If an athlete does not agree to undergo a doping test, this will be a breach of the rules. We need a legal authority that gives minors the competence to consent to doping tests, so that consent does not have to be obtained from the parents.

– There is a good dialogue with the ministry about the legal regulation of anti-doping work in Norway, and in that dialogue the testing of minors is also an important topic. We understand that the Ministry of Culture and Equality agrees that the anti-doping work in Norway must be in accordance with WADA’s requirements, so NIF has confidence that the authorities will solve this challenge.