The fate of the European figure skating champion Kamila Valieva will be decided by the exit panel of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It is there that the IOC and the International Skating Union will turn to, who decided to challenge the decision of RUSADA to admit the skater to the Olympics.

The exit panel has different functions and possibilities in terms of decision-making timeframes with the main CAS office.

What is a CAS exit panel

For the duration of the Olympics and Paralympics, CAS opens its representative office in the capital of the Games. This is necessary for the prompt resolution of disputes. The CAS front panel makes a decision within 24 hours, in rare cases within a couple of days. Without fail, it is accepted before the start, in which the athlete must perform. The decision is final and cannot be challenged.

The decision of the visiting panel in the case of Valieva will only concern the issue of her further participation in the Olympics. Decisions on the disqualification of the athlete or the deprivation of Russia of the gold of the Games will be made later.

The term of punishment (if the athlete is found guilty) will be reported from the moment the sample is taken - December 25, 2021. And, for example, in the event of a disqualification for a minimum period of one month, the results of Valieva at the Olympics will not be canceled, and Russia will keep the gold.

The decisions of the CAS exit panel have become decisive for Russia since 2016, when Russians began to be massively removed from the Games. For example, at the last moment, the visiting panel admitted the athlete Daria Klishina, swimmer Yulia Efimova to the 2016 Olympic Games and denied admission to the Russian national athletics team led by Elena Isinbayeva. Also, the exit panel rejected the appeal of more than 40 athletes against the decision to remove them from the 2018 Olympics.

The composition of the exit panel is divided into two groups. One of the groups deals only with doping cases. It is led by the Swiss Ivo Euseibo, his assistant is the American David Rivkin. Arbitrators include John Boltby, Trisha Kavanagh (both from Australia), Swiss Rafael Favre Schneider, Austrian Martina Schreitzer-Kropiunik.

Swiss lawyers will represent the interests of figure skater Valieva in the CAS Olympics 2022. It is this group that will make a decision on Valieva. None of the representatives of arbitration in doping cases had previously considered high-profile cases against Russians, unlike representatives of another group. American Jeffrey Benz was one of three arbitrators in an appeal against the decision to remove Russian athletes from the 2016 Olympics. Arbitrations with the participation of Australian Annabelle Bennet made decisions not to allow Russian weightlifters and Paralympians to the 2016 Games.

Who will defend Valieva

The interests of the Russian figure skater in the CAS will be represented by the Swiss law firm Schellenberg Wittmer Ltd, Match TV reports. Previously, this company represented the interests of RUSADA in a case against WADA, as well as the ROC in an appeal against the decision of the IOC to ban a number of Russian athletes from participating in the Olympics for life.

In 2018, CAS acquitted 28 Russian athletes disqualified by the IOC, the punishment of 11 more Russians was reduced. In December 2020, CAS partially granted RUSADA's appeal against WADA's decision on sanctions against Russian sports - reduced the period from four to two years and abolished a number of points.

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