Banning Russian Athletes From Rio Paralympics 'Shameful History,' Crime

Spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova called the banning Russian athletes from 2016 Rio Paralympics "crime" and "shameful history."

MOSCOW(Sputnik) – Banning Russian athletes from 2016 Rio Paralympics is a "shameful history" and a crime, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC) decision taken on August 7 to suspend Russian Paralympians from the September Paralympic Games in Rio, dismissing Russia’s August 15 appeal.

"These names will be go down in history, in a shameful history, of course. Because a crime was committed today…That must be a lesson for us, that must be a personal challenge for us, that is a personal challenge for me," Zakharova told Vesti FM radio broadcaster.

The doping scandal involving Russian athletes, simmering since 2014, escalated in July when an independent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) commission published a report accusing Russia of state-run doping program and urging the International Olympic Committee to consider a blanket ban on the entire Russian team. According to WADA, 35 of so-called disappearing positive test results have been allegedly found in Paralympic sport.