The All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF) has now been sent a list of conditions and verification criteria for reinstatement after the country was last month cast into the international wilderness following allegations of widespread state-supported doping.

Members of the IAAF Council voted 22-1 to ban Russia after the revelations were revealed in an explosive report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission.

The suspension would mean Russian athletes could not compete at next year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro if it is not lifted in time, with the country already set to be absent from the World Indoor Championships in Portland, United States, in March.

This is a scenario all parties are keen to avoid, however, with the released criteria now clearly stating what the Russians need to achieve with no time-frame placed on them.

An IAAF task-force is due to make its first inspection visit to Russia in January.

To be welcomed back to the fold, the ARAF must meet all WADA requirements as well, as the IAAF Anti-Doping rules and regulations.

Both the IAAF and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency must be able to carry out drug-testing activities in Russia effectively and without interference, while the participation of Russian athletes must not jeopardise the integrity of international competitions.

"The conditions we have announced leave no room for doubt," said Coe.

"Russia must demonstrate verifiable change across a range of criteria and satisfy our task-force that those criteria will be met permanently.

"There is no timeline for Russia.

"It is up to them to implement verifiable change both in anti-doping practice and culture."

The IAAF has said that Russia must "clean house" and ensure than none of its directors, officers or staff has any past involvement in doping and that staff who cannot meet this requirement are released.

This would include Dr Sergei Portugalov, highlighted by WADA as a key player in the doping scheme and who is currently awaiting the outcome of a case against him, while a "comprehensive" code of ethics and "reasonable" term limits for all officials must be introduced.

All of the pending disciplinary cases against Russian athletes and support personnel must be resolved quickly - generally within three months - while the cases involving international level athletes will be prosecuted by the IAAF before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The ARAF must also conduct thorough investigations into any further potential doping cases, which must include interviewing all athletes who may have been provided with drugs and/or were counselled on doping by athlete support personnel named in the WADA report.

When reliable evidence of doping is discovered, the IAAF will consider offering mitigating penalties to anyone who provides assistance to undercover wrongdoing, while aggravated sanctions will be pursued against anyone found guilty of threatening or intimidating athletes or doping control officers (DCOs).

Until RUSADA is back in operation, the IAAF will organise the drug-testing of the top tier of Russian athletes, while any athlete who wants to compete after the ARAF is reinstated will have to demonstrate that he or she has undergone at least three no-notice out-of-competition tests.

For endurance athletes, there must be at least three Athlete Biological Passport tests, blood and urine, in the six months prior to the event.

All samples will be collected by international DCOs and shipped to WADA-accredited laboratories outside of Russia for analysis. 

Meanwhile, Russia has been tasked with establishing a "strong anti-doping" culture moving forward, which includes demonstrating that athletes and staff are committed to clean sport.

This will include obtaining signed declarations, providing them with comprehensive anti-doping education, and actively promoting an open anti-doping culture.

In addition, a mechanism for whistle-blowing must be established and any practices which could incentivise doping must be stopped.

Effective deterrence of future doping must also be spearheaded by the ARAF, through broad publication of doping bans, the imposition of additional monetary penalties and the proposed criminalisation of the distribution and trafficking of prohibited substances under Russian law.

To read the full document click ARAF terms of reference.pdf.



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