Switzerland: WADA boss Reedie hails 'reformed' RUSADA's 'good work'

M/S Media scrum, Lausanne
SOT, Craig Reedie, Outgoing President of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA): "This is the fifth anniversary of the revelation of Russian cheating in the field of track and field athletics. I had hoped that we would close it after the meeting in [the] Seychelles, but we haven't been able to close it. It is not our fault that it's still open. I assure you, if this had not happened, we would've been further on, so remind them not to do this again."
M/S Camera operator *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Craig Reedie, Outgoing President of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA): "The legality of the situation is that we have to, first of all, deal with our counterpart in Russia, which is the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. If you read the report, you will see that because they have now reformed all of their practices, we will not apply any consequences - that RUSADA will be invited to continue the good work that they are doing now, because if we effect that, we cut off our nose to spite our face. And that would be silly, we want the good work that RUSADA is doing to continue in Russia."
C/U Journalist *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Craig Reedie, Outgoing President of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA): "Well, I come from a country that at the moment doesn't have a government, so I am kind of worried about the election in four days' time."
C/U Camera *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Gunter Younger, Director of Intelligence and Investigations at World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA): "So first, as an investigator, you are not believing - so what do you think is what you have, meaning facts. What we have is forensic facts. This is like, you can compare with DNA. When something is deleted, it's deleted. If we something we find that it's fabricated, it's fabricated. Whoever did it, for whatever reasons, that's a second question. From an investigation point of view, from what we saw is that we were provided with evidence that [was] fabricated, and this is the result."
M/S Camera *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Gunter Younger, Director of Intelligence and Investigations at World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA): "I mean, I am still hoping for the Russian athletes. I always say that 'it was [a] Russian who took down the Russian - it was Russian athletes who wanted to help us, and Russian officials. So therefore, we would love to have the raw data. And exonerate those that are still [suspected]."
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SCRIPT
Outgoing President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Craig Reedie said that the organisation would not come down hard on their Russian colleagues because doing so would "cut off our nose to spite our face," following a press conference in Lausanne on Monday.
"Because they have now reformed all of their practices, we will not apply any consequences - RUSADA will be invited to continue the good work that they are doing now," said Reedie to a Russian media scrum.
Meanwhile, WADA's Director of Intelligence and Investigations Gunter Younger said he was still hoping to exonerate more Russian athletes of wrongdoing, should he be provided with the "raw data" to do so. "I am still hoping for the Russian athletes. I always say that 'it was [a] Russian who took down [inaudible], it was Russian athletes who wanted to help us, and Russian officials," said Younger.
WADA unanimously decided to back the recommendations by the Compliance Review Committee (CRC), in accordance with which Russian athletes will be forbidden from competing under their flag at world championships and major sporting events for at least four years, amongst other punishments for alleged interference with anti-doping data.