IBSF panel doesn't suspend Russians because of possible breach of law

Berlin (dpa) - The ruling bobsleigh and skeleton federation IBSF said Tuesday its Doping Hearing Panel has decided not to suspend Russian 2014 Olympic gold medallists Alexandr Zubkov and Alexandr Tretiakov because proceedings leading to their Olympic bans may have violated international law.The IBSF said it will bring the case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), while the panel said "it would be clearly unfair" to suspend the athletes again.Zubkov and Tretiakov are among more the 30 Russians disqualified from the Sochi Games 2014 and banned from the Olympics for life by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in connection with allegations of state-sponsored doping practices by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) investigator Richard McLaren.Key whistleblower in the case is former Moscow anti-doping lab chief Gerigory Rodchenkov who has spoken to McLaren but was not heard in the IOC proceedings as he is now in the United States and under protection there."The IBSF Doping Hearing Panel comes to the conclusion that not hearing Dr Rodchenkov before a proper Disciplinary Commission or Hearing Panel instead of exclusively before McLaren is convincingly probable to be successfully contested before a Court as being not compatible with the principles of international law, Swiss procedural law," a statement said.It said there was "a legal necessity to have Dr Rodchenkov as witness available for examination and/or cross examination in order to create equality of treatment and therewith due process."