MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) independent commission headed by Richard McLaren introduced the second part of the report on alleged Russian doping abuse, revealing manipulations by athletes in 30 sporting disciplines.
"A biased attitude is unfair. In this context, our representatives in the international federations play an important role. Sometimes, there is no one to promote our interests and protect them. [We] need those people, who will be able to represent Russian sport with dignity," Smirnov told reporters.
Smirnov added that Russia had always been under pressure and that it was important to understand whether it was reasonable.
Commenting on the issue, Smirnov said that the Russian independent anti-doping commission was holding talks with WADA to reconcile the differences both on Isinbayeva’s appointment and McLaren’s report.
The doping scandal, simmering since 2014, escalated in July when WADA presented a report accusing Russia of running a state-wide doping program and urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to consider a blanket ban on the entire Russian Olympic team. The IOC instead opted to let individual sports federations decide on the matter.
As a result, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) banned Russian athletes from taking part in international competitions including the 2016 Summer Olympics. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) later banned all Russian Paralympic athletes from the 2016 Summer Paralympics and the 2018 Winter Games.
