BOA confident ahead of CAS decision- 19 Dec 2011 00:00:00
Lord Moynihan, the chairman of the British Olympic Association, has reiterated the BOA's confidence that its lifetime ban for drugs cheats will be upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but added that currently excluded athletes would be welcomed back into the team if the decision goes against his organisation.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) insists that the BOA's ban is non-compliant with the WADA code, but Moynihan told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'This is not a sanction or double jeopardy, this is a selection policy. The right of team selectors is the basis for a strong appeal.'
He insisted: 'We are going to CAS to try to win this case, we believe we need to do so on behalf of clean athletes and reflect the 90-95% of athletes who consistently ask for this selection policy. We have full autonomy to decide who we are going to select and we believe that is a very strong position in front of CAS.'
However, Moynihan accepted that athletes currently excluded by the BOA's rules would be welcomed back into the team if CAS rules with WADA. 'They will, rest assured, be fully embraced into the team,' he told the BBC.
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