Russian flag, natl. anthem banned from Olympics for 4 years

(NBC) – The Russian flag and national anthem have been banned from the Olympics and other major sports events for four years by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Russia’s hosting of world championships in Olympic sports also face being stripped after the WADA executive committee Monday approved a full slate of recommended sanctions for tampering with a Moscow laboratory database.

According to the WADA ruling, Russian athletes will be allowed to compete in major events only if they are not implicated in positive doping tests or their data was not manipulated.

“Russia will not be represented. Russia will not be represented at any of those events. Their flag will not fly and the Russian Federation will not have a team in any of those events,” said WADA spokesman James Fitzgerald.

He continued, “It means that Russian athletes, if they want to compete in the Olympics, or in the Paralympics or the various major events that are listed within this reclamation, they’re going to have to prove that they had nothing to do with non-compliance. So they weren’t involved in the doping schemes, as described by McLaren’s reports. They weren’t in any way affected or had their samples or data affected by this manipulation under a list of other criteria that are contained within the recommendation.”

Russia’s Anti-Doping Agency can appeal the decision.