Sir Craig Reedie has fought off criticism over his handling of the Russian doping scandal to be re-elected president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) for a second consecutive three-year term.

The 75-year-old Scot was re-elected unopposed by Wada’s 38-strong foundation board in Glasgow, despite concerns expressed by a number of Olympic delegates over Wada’s call for a blanket ban on all Russian athletes competing at Rio 2016.

Reedie had received the support of the International Olympic Committee early this month but doubts were raised during this week’s annual gathering of the Association of National Olympic Committees in Doha.

Reedie and Wada have been accused of blighting the build-up to the Rio Games by their handling of the doping allegations, in particular in favouring a stronger stance on Russia than the one ultimately adopted by the IOC.

Reedie had told Press Association Sport in the last week: “It makes no sense to walk away now. The situation needs to be resolved and it will be resolved.

“I took this on expecting to serve two terms. OK, nobody imagined we would be spending two years dealing with Russia but that is where we are at. It might not look like it but we are making real progress now. I am not walking away.”

Reedie may find himself at the centre of more controversy as he embarks on his second term with the difficult task of beginning to bring Russia in from the cold.

The second part of the Wada-sponsored report into alleged doping improprieties by the Canadian legal expert Richard McLaren is set to be released in December and is expected to provide more damning details of Russian cheating.

The ANOC president, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, one of the most powerful administrators in world sport, gave voice to this embarrassment, telling delegates that reform of the anti-doping system would be impossible without “a neutral chair” of Wada and even suggested the agency should be moved from Montreal to Geneva, closer to the headquarters of most Olympic sports.

Reedie was also heavily criticised by ANOC delegates for the timing of the announcement that Wada was suspending the accreditation of Doha’s anti-doping laboratory, which came on the eve of the ANOC general assembly in the city. </s> Media playback is not supported on this device Sir Craig Reedie says Wada will continue its fight against doping

World Anti-Doping Agency president Sir Craig Reedie has insisted sport can recover from a "dreadful" period.

Wada was heavily criticised by Olympic officials for its handling of the Russian doping scandal in the build-up to this summer's Rio Games.

Reedie's future at the agency has been called into question just days before he stands for re-election.

But the 75-year-old Briton told BBC Sport he would fight on as "the integrity of sport is at stake".

Tensions over Wada's attempt to get Russia banned from the Rio Olympics were laid bare at this week's general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).

"There was irritation from a number of national Olympic committees," said Reedie, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

"Just before Rio they would rather sport had not been involved in accusations of the breaching of rules by the Russian authorities, and I understand that, so I had to deal with it and I did deal with it."

IOC president Thomas Bach told BBC Sport this week he has "no regrets" about letting Russia compete at Rio 2016.

Media playback is not supported on this device IOC chief Bach has 'no regrets' over Russia ruling

But ANOC president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah - an influential powerbroker in the Olympic movement - has called for a "neutral" leader to take charge of Wada.

Reedie is due to stand unopposed for a second three-year term at a Wada board meeting this weekend. He had been told he had the IOC's support.

"I've spent 15 years of my life working with Wada," he said. "I don't think it's a particularly good idea if I walk away from it simply because it's getting difficult.

"We've been faced with a difficult situation. I think we're going to come through it, and we have to. The integrity of sport is at stake."

The Olympic movement is bracing itself for the release next month of a second independent Wada report by professor Richard McLaren into Russian doping.

His first report was damning, revealing a systematic cheating programme in the country across many sports.

"If, about three and a half years ago, when I was invited to apply [to be Wada president], somebody had told me this would have happened, it maybe isn't the kind of job that you would volunteer for," said Reedie.

"That having been said, there are serious issues involved here.

"The past has been pretty dreadful. I'm really hopeful that once we get the second part of the McLaren report out of the way, we can draw a line under the past and move forward.

"We have to get the Russian anti-doping agency properly compliant again and we need to look at what Wada is currently doing, and see if we can do it better."

Wada's board meeting in Glasgow this weekend could be pivotal in the debate about how to better protect clean sport following the recent Russian scandal.

Many within the anti-doping community want Wada to be strengthened, with greater independence and sanctioning power.

However, the sports movement appears reluctant to hand Wada more authority, with Bach suggesting he wants a new Wada-run body to take on responsibility for testing as well as regulation.

Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. </s> There was no mention of Russia publicly accepting a state-sponsored conspiracy to help its athletes win Olympic medals by doping.

The World Anti-Doping Agency reinstated Russia on Thursday despite a wave of protests, ending the nearly three-year suspension of the country’s drug-testing program because of a state-sponsored doping scheme.

WADA’s decision after a vote of its 12-member executive committee was called “the greatest treachery against clean athletes in Olympic history” by the lawyer of the whistleblower who helped uncover Russia’s cheating.

WADA decided to reinstate Russia after backtracking on two key conditions it had set for reinstatement: That Russia accept a report that concluded state involvement in the doping and coverups, and that Russia give access to evidence stored in its discredited Moscow laboratory.

In announcing its decision to find the Russian Anti-Doping Agency compliant, WADA said it would be “subject to strict conditions.” There is now a “clear timeline” for Russia to grant WADA access to samples stored in its Moscow lab, WADA president Craig Reedie said, but no date was announced.

There was no mention of Russia publicly accepting a state-sponsored conspiracy to help its athletes win Olympic medals by doping.

Reedie said a majority of the executive committee voted to reinstate Russia but didn’t say what the vote count was.

Signs that WADA had suddenly softened its stance on Russia came last week when one of its key committees suddenly changed direction and surprisingly recommended Russia be reinstated. That led to fierce criticism from anti-doping figures — some from within WADA itself — and athletes from around the world opposed to Russia’s reinstatement.

Reedie’s vice-president at WADA, Norwegian politician Linda Helleland, said she would not be voting for reinstatement.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency was suspended in November 2015 after the doping scandal, which centred on helping Russian athletes win medals at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, was revealed.

As recently as May this year, WADA and Russia appeared to be still in a stalemate with the country not accepting those two key conditions.

The move to suddenly reinstate was portrayed by some as WADA, and tacitly the International Olympic Committee, appeasing a sporting superpower unwilling to admit wrongdoing. The WADA executive board that decided on Russia’s reinstatement is made up of six members from the Olympic movement and six from government authorities.

“The United States is wasting its money by continuing to fund WADA, which is obviously impotent to address Russia’s state-sponsored doping,” said Jim Walden, the lawyer for whistleblower and former Moscow lab director Grigory Rodchenkov.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> VICTORIA, Seychelles — The World Anti-Doping Agency has reinstated Russia, ending a nearly three-year suspension caused by state-sponsored doping.

WADA says its 12-member executive committee voted to reinstate the Russian Anti-Doping Agency “subject to strict conditions.”

WADA’s move came despite a wave of fierce criticism from anti-doping figures — some within WADA itself — and from athletes around the world opposed to Russia being reinstated without taking full responsibility for what has been labeled systematic doping.

Russia still hasn’t admitted state involvement or given access to evidence at its discredited Moscow laboratory — two key conditions for reinstatement set by WADA but eased in recent months.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency was suspended in November 2015 after it was revealed there was a government-backed scheme of doping and coverups that helped Russian athletes win Olympic medals. </s> MOSCOW, Russian Federation, Sep 20 – The Russian government said on Thursday the decision by the world anti-doping body to lift sanctions on Russia’s anti-doping agency was the result of “enormous work” by Moscow to improve testing.

“We welcome WADA’s decision,” Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying after the World Anti-Doping Agency’s executive committee voted to reinstate the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA).

“Russia confirms its adherence to the principles of clean sports competition,” she said.

“Over the past years Russia has done enormous work to create transparent and understandable measures to prevent doping,” she said, adding that these included criminal prosecution for those who force someone to take banned substances.

RUSADA chief Yury Ganus said that the reinstatement “opens the path to competitions for our athletes, our federations, moreover it creates an opportunity” to organise sports events in Russia.

Speaking in televised remarks, he added however that this was just the “first step” towards “rebuilding trust” in the Russian sports system.

WADA suspended RUSADA in 2015 after declaring it to be non-compliant following revelations of a vast Russian-backed scheme to avoid drug testers.

The decision to lift the suspension was announced at a WADA meeting in Seychelles on Thursday.

For several months, WADA believed that Russia had made progress in their anti-doping procedures since their suspension.

As well as changes in the leadership which were at the centre of the scandal when it broke, the authorities claimed they had toughened up the anti-doping policy, introducing criminal responsibility for doping.

In June 2017, WADA authorised RUSADA to conduct doping control programs again but under the supervision of Britain’s anti-doping agency.

Another key factor in Russia’s potential rehabilitation came in May when deputy Prime Minister and sports minister Vitali Mutko, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, was ousted.

Mutko had been one of the chief targets of the bombshell McLaren report which lifted the lid on state-sponsored doping.

He was replaced by Golodets in a government reshuffle following the re-election of Putin.

When Ganus was appointed in August 2017, there were early indications of a shifting in the sands.

Russia’s anti-doping credit “is exhausted”, he said shortly after his election to RUSADA.

On Thursday, he reiterated that Russia can no longer afford “such scandals”, saying that “sportsmen must play by the rules”.

Russian officials also believe that the public apology for the scandal made by Russian Athletic Federation (Rusaf) president Dmitry Shlyakhtin was another positive sign.

Russian athletes have been banned from international competition by the IAAF and reinstatement is not guaranteed after WADA’s decision.

But Shlyakhtin, quoted by Interfax, said Thursday: “(I) look with optimism on the next steps to accelerate the reintegration process of the Rusaf.”

Russian sports minister Pavel Kolobkov said Moscow “will do its utmost to ensure that all Russia’s obligations are fulfilled”. </s> VICTORIA, Seychelles (AP) - The World Anti-Doping Agency has reinstated Russia, ending a nearly three-year suspension caused by state-sponsored doping.

WADA says its 12-member executive committee voted to reinstate the Russian Anti-Doping Agency "subject to strict conditions."

WADA's move came despite a wave of fierce criticism from anti-doping figures - some within WADA itself - and from athletes around the world opposed to Russia being reinstated without taking full responsibility for what has been labeled systematic doping.

FILE -The May 24, 2016 file photo shows a RUSADA sign reading "Russian National Anti-doping Agency" on a building in Moscow, Russia. The World Anti-Doping Agency is due to vote Thursday Sept. 20, 2018, on possible reinstatement of Russia's anti-doping agency, RUSADA, but opponents feel Russia can't be trusted to reform without first accepting more of the blame. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, FILE)

Russia still hasn't admitted state involvement or given access to evidence at its discredited Moscow laboratory - two key conditions for reinstatement set by WADA but eased in recent months.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency was suspended in November 2015 after it was revealed there was a government-backed scheme of doping and cover-ups that helped Russian athletes win Olympic medals.

FILE - In this May 24, 2016 file photo employees work in Russia's national drug-testing laboratory in Moscow. Russian doping whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, the whistleblower who exposed Russia's doping corruption at the Sochi Olympics added to a chorus of protest over the possible reinstatement of the country's anti-doping agency. In a statement provided to The Associated Press, Grigory Rodchenkov portrayed the World Anti-Doping Agency's shifting of its requirements to end RUSADA's suspension as a result of Russia's unwillingness to accept findings from investigator Richard McLaren, who detailed a government-sponsored doping program designed to win medals. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the media during a joint news conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban after their talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018. Putin says "a chain of tragic circumstances" is to be blamed for a Russian military aircraft shot down by a Syrian missile. He vowed to boost security for Russian troops there. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

FILE - In this file photo dated Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017, Russian National Anti-doping Agency RUSADA head Yuri Ganus speaks during a news conference in Moscow, Russia. The World Anti-Doping Agency is due to vote Thursday Sept. 20, 2018, on possible reinstatement of Russia's anti-doping agency, RUSADA, but opponents feel Russia can't be trusted to reform without first accepting more of the blame. Speaking earlier this month, Ganus said just about the only burdens from Russia's "non-compliant" status were extra monitoring of the agency's work and problems asking for assistance from foreign agencies. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, FILE) </s> The Ministry of Youth and Sports (MOYS) has inaugurated a nine-member National Anti-Doping Committee (NADC) tasked with producing a legal framework that will lead to the establishment of an independent national anti-doping commission.

According to the Minister of Youth and Sports (MOYS), Isaac Kwame Asiamah, the committee is to ensure that Ghanaian athletes complete fairly locally and internationally by policing the use of banned substances.

He said as one of the 43 signatories to UNESCO's International Convention against Doping in Sport, Ghana was committed to the fight against doping in sport.

"Upon taking office in 2017, there was the need for the establishment of a national anti-doping commission which is a requirement of countries that have ratified the UNESCO convention. My Ministry has been regular in the payments of it's anti World Doping Agency contributions and of course that of our regional anti-doping contributions," Mr Asiamah said shortly before swearing-in the committee.

"The committee is made of capable Ghanaians that have distinguished themselves in their area of expertise. Their job is to ensure that we have a sound legislative framework, a sound legal framework that can stand the test of time in fighting doping in sports. I am happy that as chairman we have a Member of Parliament who understands and appreciates the legal framework so would help us in shaping a law that can fight doping in sports.

"Cheating must not be allowed to go on and that can only happen when we have a sound legal framework that can fight doping in sports, today it's good news for Ghana sports as we take a giant step in ensuring that we have an anti-doping."

Mr Asiamah said the committee was only the third of it's kind in Africa with only South Africa and Kenya having independent anti-doping bodies.

The National Anti-Doping Committee is chaired by the Member of Parliament of Effiduase/Asokore, Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie with the President of the Ghana Olympic Committee, Ben Nunoo Mensah serving as the Vice Chairman.

Other members of the NADC are Mr Emmanuel Domenyah (Ghana Education Service), Mrs Olivia Agyekumwaa Boateng (Food and Drugs Authority), Mr Mark Harrison Amankwa (National Pharmacy Council), Dr Prince David Pambo (Medical and Dental Council, Mrs Sefakor Batse (Attorney Generals Department), Dr Aryetey and Paul Atchoe (Vice President of the GOC).

The Chairman of the NADC who revealed that he was off to Seychelles for the World Anti-Doping Agency Executive Committee Meeting said the committee will in the interim develop programmes to enhance operations of anti-doping officials in Ghana.

He said: "The committee definitely will look towards developing programmes, we have doping officers conducting random tests on players all the time. So, it's not as if work has not been on we have been working hard and we will develop a policy that will make efforts against anti-doping very effective." </s> GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Russian sport is a long way from convincing the world that it has cleaned up its act, the World Anti-Doping Agency declared Sunday, pointing to the state’s failure to accept it was behind a doping program, its continued obstruction of testing, and a series of cyberattacks.

“It would be better if they were maybe a little bit more contrite,” WADA President Craig Reedie told The Associated Press after being re-elected unopposed for a second term.

Russia is seeking readmission to WADA a year after being declared non-compliant with the doping code, following the publication of a report detailing widespread cheating in track and field.

Fresh evidence of state-backed doping cover-ups was revealed by investigators ahead of the Rio de Janeiro Games, although WADA’s recommendation of a blanket ban on Russia’s Olympic team was rejected by the IOC.

Russia’s integrity is set to be challenged again when Canadian law professor Richard McLaren’s final doping report is published on Dec. 9, with the focus on winter sports.

Reedie said Russia still has to get “the rest of the world to believe that they have reformed and this (doping) won’t happen again. So there is much work to be done.”

At Sunday’s Foundation Board meeting, WADA officials outlined how Russia continues to frustrate anti-doping officials by denying access to so-called closed cities where athletes are training and also to a sealed-off laboratory in Moscow that contains samples sought by sporting federations.

The public criticism was delivered in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s anti-doping troubleshooter, Vitaly Smirnov, the former Soviet sports minister now heading Russia’s state-backed anti-doping commission.

“Russia has never had a state-sponsored system of doping,” Smirnov responded defiantly.

Vitaly Mutko, who was recently promoted from sports minister to deputy prime minister, was banned from attending the Rio Olympics after being accused by McLaren of ordering the cover-up of a failed drug test by a foreign soccer player.

A WADA presentation on Sunday flagged up claims by Mutko that McLaren’s report was “falsified” and threats to prosecute those assisting the investigators.

One of Mutko’s deputies at the sports ministry, Yuri Nagornykh, was ousted on Putin’s orders after McLaren said he helped to orchestrate cover-ups of hundreds of drug tests. But Smirnov said Nagornykh was not a member of the government because “he was deputy minister,” maintaining that “only ministers are members of the government.”

Russia’s unflinching denial of state involvement was rebutted by WADA, with Reedie endorsing “clear evidence of collusion between the laboratory and the ministry” from McLaren’s investigation.

Reedie does, however, believe there is a “willingness to resolve the problems.” And he will not insist on a full acceptance of guilt at government level as an “absolute condition” of Russia’s anti-doping body being cleared by WADA.

“It would be a great shame if they couldn’t be compliant because they couldn’t find a way of dealing with closed cities,” Reedie said, referring to the areas where the Russian military restricts access. “Maybe athletes shouldn’t go there.”

Also straining relations are the cyberattacks on WADA’s databases, which the agency attributes to Russia espionage groups – as they appeared designed to raise doubts about the integrity of sports stars from Western nations.

Records of “Therapeutic Use Exemptions,” which allow athletes to use otherwise-banned drugs because of a verified medical need, were leaked by a hacking group known as Fancy Bears.

“This doesn’t make international acceptance of Russian improvement any easier if this goes on,” Reedie said of the hacking.

While disclosing that hackers are still trying to obtain logins and passwords, WADA said it would continue to oppose the publication of athletes’ medical information. The agency said 143 TUEs were granted before or during the Rio Games, with a “handful” of the 11,303 competing athletes requiring more than one.

“The system works perfectly,” Reedie said, as the TUEs are “allocated and agreed by responsible people in sport.”

WADA will remain under the leadership of the 75-year-old Reedie for the next three years, despite elements of the Olympic world appearing uneasy with the agency’s attacks on Russia. Association of National Olympic Committees President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah had wanted a “neutral chair” to take over from Reedie, who was supported by the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC congratulated Reedie on Sunday and said it “welcomed his commitment … to work towards the appointment of a neutral WADA President.”

Reedie responded: “I have always been (neutral). I will continue to be, and behave, as independently as I can.”

Rob Harris is at www.twitter.com/RobHarris and www.facebook.com/RobHarrisReports

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Aleksander Ceferin, the president of Slovenia’s football federation, was overwhelmingly elected as the new head of European football’s governing body UEFA at an extraordinary Congress on Wednesday.

Ceferin, 48, beat Dutchman Michael van Praag, the only other candidate, by 42 votes to 13 and will succeed Frenchman Michel Platini, who announced his resignation in May after being banned from football for four years for ethics violations.

Ceferin, who is not a member of UEFA’s executive committee, was little known outside his own country until he announced his intention to run in June.

“I am not a showman, I have no ego issues and I am not a man of unrealistic promises,” he told delegates before the vote. Each of UEFA’s 55 member associations had one vote in the election.
Craig Reedie is elected for a second term as President of the World Anti-Doping Agency.