The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) has announced its intention to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against a possible ban on South African teams competing under their national flag at the ongoing Rugby and Cricket World Cups.
The announcement was made by the country’s Sports Minister, Zizi Kodwa, on Tuesday.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has set a deadline of Friday for the South African government to pass an amended Bill through parliament aimed at bringing the country’s legislation in line with the revamped 2021 World Anti-Doping Code.
However, the process is still ongoing, despite the introduction of the new WADA code in January 2021, and is not expected to be completed by the Friday deadline, which would trigger sanctions against South Africa.
The sanctions would include the banning of South African teams from competing under their national flag at global events.
This would be a devastating blow to South African athletes, who take great pride in representing their country on the global stage.
South Africa are due to play hosts France in a Rugby World Cup quarter-final in Paris on Sunday, and the prospect of not being able to compete under their national flag is causing great concern among the team and their supporters.
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“Last week the Bill was approved by cabinet and will now be tabled to parliament,” Kodwa told reporters.
“I am confident WADA will recognise these efforts as a commitment to pass the amended legislation and suspend the non-compliance declaration. South Africa is a constitutional democracy and enacting laws cannot just be done through the stroke of a pen.”
WADA has yet to respond to a request for comment by Reuters, but Kodwa confirmed that SAIDS would appeal with CAS if WADA does not budge.
“I believe the grounds for appeal are strong and that the sanctions are not appropriate,” Kodwa said.
“The sanction as it pertains to the flying of the national flag has created unnecessary hysteria and punished athletes and players unfairly who are competing for the pride of South Africa.”
Kodwa also stated that the appeal would, “stave off the consequences of the non-compliance … this means the flying of the South African flag at events such as the Cricket and Rugby World Cups will not be affected until CAS rules on this challenge.”
South Africa has been aware for some time that it is not compliant with the amended WADA code, but there has been a lack of urgency to deal with the matter, which pertains mostly to adjusting wording within the Bill, rather than any policy shifts.
However, the looming sanctions have now brought the matter to a head and have focused the attention of the South African government and sporting authorities on the need to take swift action to avoid the potential exclusion of South African teams from global sporting events.
