Pressure is intensifying on the World Anti-Doping Agency with the UK and European Union being urged to stop funding the global body following the United States’ decision to withhold its financial backing over Wada’s handling of the 23 Chinese swimmers cleared to compete at the 2021 Olympics.
The shadow sports minister, Stuart Andrew, is calling on the government to follow the example of President Joe Biden’s administration and consider withholding funds if Wada cannot show full transparency over the China case. Meanwhile, the former Wada vice-president, Linda Helleland, who chairs the Council of Europe’s cultural and sport committee and is Norway’s shadow sports minister, is calling on her country to withdraw its support for Wada.
Andrew said: “We have really high standards in the UK and part of that is ensuring that athletes can be sure that they’re going into competitions where they know it’s fair. If there are concerns around Wada we have to push them on clarification over this. Releasing the papers will give confidence to the system: if they can’t do that then I think we have to ask serious questions about funding Wada going forward.
“If Wada is confident everything is robust and fair then what have they got to hide? It would provide confidence to everybody. If they can’t do that we have to have a serious think about the future.”. The US government has declined to pay its $3.6m (£2.9m) 2024 contribution to Wada and looks unlikely to pay in the future under the administration of President Donald Trump after it emerged last year that Wada had cleared 23 Chinese swimmers to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, even though they had tested positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine (TMZ). Wada accepted the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency explanation that a kitchen at a team hotel could have contaminated all 23 samples.
