WADA Suspends Accreditation of Romanian Anti-Doping Laboratory

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said Thursday it had suspended for six months the accreditation of a lab in the Romanian capital of Bucharest over "non-conformities."

The curbs go back to November 29, 2017 when the facility was found to be in breach of the International Standard for Laboratories and received a provisional suspension.

"The suspension, which is backdated from the point of the provisional suspension, prohibits the Bucharest laboratory from carrying out any anti-doping activities, including all analyses of urine and blood samples," the agency said in a statement.

WADA said the laboratory needs to address concerns of its disciplinary committee or face an additional six months’ suspension period. The lab may appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within the next 21 days.

Last week, WADA informant and former head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory Grigory Rodchenkov said that over 20 countries are practicing doping in their respective sports programs.

"Twenty plus… For sure," Rodchenkov said, asked how many countries were doping on Scott Pelley's 60 Minutes program, which aired on Sunday in an interview with the CBS broadcaster.

Rodchenkov noted that there would always be people who are "cheaters by their natures" and strive to win by any means, and that these are human "sins" that have nothing to do with sports.