British Olympic Association makes appeal for life bans for doping - Olympics
The British Olympic Association (BOA) has recently filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The formal appeal that has been filed by the BOA is about the life long ban on Olympic athletes that have been found to have using illegal drugs.
The issue of imposing a lifelong ban came to light last month when the BOA was challenged by an athlete who was banned for life by the BOA from taking part in the Olympic Games. The banned athlete appealed against the decision made by the BOA and the case
concluded in favour of the athlete.
The controversy arose when a discrepancy was spotted in the rules of the BOA and the International Olympic Committee. In the books of the world body, the ban is for a period of two years if an athlete has committed a drug offense for the first time. However,
the BOA’s law for a lifelong ban comes into direct contradiction of this rule.
Colin Moynihan, the chairman of the BOA, expressed himself on the matter in the following manner: “The BOA selection policy is a direct expression of the commitment British athletes have made to uphold the values of fair play, integrity and clean competition
- values that are at the heart of Olympic sport. It is a policy that reflects the culture and character of Team GB. The BOA and British Olympic athletes do not consider that those who have deliberately cheated should represent Britain at the Olympic Games.”
According to the BOA, the appeal was made in order to have a clear idea on the selection policy before the start of the Olympic Games next year.
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