CAS tribunal upholds lifetime ban on Russian doping doctor

[March 13, 2017]    ZURICH (Reuters) - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday upheld a lifetime ban levied against Sergei Portugalov, former chief of the Russian Athletics Federation's Medical Commission, for his role in providing illicit substances to Russian athletes.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is pictured in Lausanne February 7, 2013. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

Lausanne-based CAS upheld the ban as part of an arbitration involving the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) and the Russian Athletics Federation, citing in a statement "clear evidence" that he violated IAAF doping rules governing possession and trafficking of prohibited substances.

In a 2015 report, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) wrote that Portugalov supplied performance enhancing drugs to athletes and coaches, administered doping programs and "even injected athletes himself".

(Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields)

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