The Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA) is clear about the case of the provisional suspension of Mo Katir (25 years). If the 5,000 meter world runner-up maintains an open file, he will not be eligible for international competitions such as the Paris Olympic Games even if he obtains a precautionary measure. Katir reported on Wednesday that World Athletic's Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had provisionally suspended him for being unreachable during three doping tests over the course of a year.
Faced with this blow to one of the stars of Spanish athletics, the federation president, Raúl Chapado, came out yesterday without half measures. “We will comply with our regulations. The Federation approved the eligibility criteria in 2017 and establishes that if there is an open file for discipline or doping for the Spanish federation, it is not eligible for an international competition. If you have the precautionary measure, but keep the file open, you are not eligible for an international competition,” Chapado insisted on several occasions.
In fact, the Spanish Federation reacted immediately on Wednesday and abruptly suspended his card. Chapado is also vice president of World Athletics and head of the Competition Commission. The RFEA considers that in no case can he look the other way. “We cannot ask athletes to comply with the rules if we do not comply with our own regulations,” Chapado said.
The president of the Federation affirmed that the process is in the first step. Now Katir will appeal to the AIU and then go to the TAS in case the Intregrity Unit does not agree with him. “The higher level an athlete has, the greater the impact. But we have to respect the regulations. We are in the first phase of instruction. We have to respect the procedure and wait for what the AIU or, if applicable, the TAS say. The evaluations must be made at the end,” Chapado asked.
The athlete hides behind the fact that the location system has made errors and that in some cases he was in the place, date and time he should have been. “I cannot reveal the dates of the location failures because it is part of the procedure. But they informed us of the first notice, we are in copy, like the International Federation. If one of the location errors is not correct, then he would not receive punishment,” argued the president of the Federation. Chapado does not know if, due to deadlines, the procedure will be able to finish in time so that Katir could reach the Games in the event of being exempt from any responsibility. The truth is that at this moment he has it raw.
The athlete's representative, Miguel Ángel Mostaza, spoke with Chapado on Wednesday. “It was only three minutes and to inform us of the situation,” said the leader. It rains in the wet regarding doping in Spanish sport, under the magnifying glass of the World Agency (WADA). “What is clear is that on some occasions Spain's legal framework has not met international regulations,” Chapado concluded. Bad business.
