Spain will not allow Katir to go to the Games despite precautionary measures

Being the flagship of Spanish athletics will not bring comfort to Mo Katir (1998), which must include all the consequences of having a file opened by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for accumulating three location failures within 12 months for out-of-competition anti-controls doping. “The Federation will apply its regulations, if there is an open file it is not eligible,” the RFEA president said bluntly. Raul Chapado in Press conference From Madrid. The top leader of Spanish athletics has urgently traveled from Monaco to give explanations to the media about one of the most alarming doping scandals in recent years. Mo Katir, silver world in 5,000my brass at 1,500m, is one of the main assets of the Spanish Olympic Committee to achieve a medal in Paris 2024 for its massive history and its having a major rival, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, injured of importance to Achilles.

It is the same athlete, through a statement given by his representative Miguel Mostaza, who announced that the AIU temporarily sanctioned him for not reaching and failing three anti-doping controls. The World Anti-Doping Code is very clear on this point and equates this violation with a positive test for the consumption of a prohibited substance, with the established penalty reaching four years of disqualification. “We will follow our regulations. The Federation approved the eligibility criteria in 2017 and established that, if there is an open file due to discipline or doping, it is not eligible to participate in an international competition under RFEA regulations. If you have a precautionary step, but keep the file open, is not eligible for an international competition,” Chapado highlighted to remove doubts about a profile position on the part of the federative entity and a leader who is also vice president of the International Athletics Federation (World Athletics).

The president wanted to make it clear that they will not offer any favorable treatment to Katir for being a star and winning medals for Spain. “We can’t ask the athletes to follow the rules if we don’t follow our own regulations,” he added, referring to the young national talents who are in the training stage and should be filled with clean athletes. The strength shown by Chapado in a press conference is consistent with immediate reaction from the RFEA itselfwho suddenly had his record suspended by the federation upon learning of AIU’s provisional sanction.

“The process is in first step”, recalled the president of Spain. “The higher the level of an athlete, the greater the impact, but we have to respect the regulations,” he said. “We have to respect what the AIU or the CAS say – if Katir files an appeal before this opportunity – and wait for the end of the process to make an assessment,” he carefully explained. Katir argued in his statement that the decisions are not accepted for at least one of the occasions he was in the place where he was sought in a timely manner and could not be found. “I can’t reveal the dates of the location failures because it’s part of the procedure, but they let us know the first notice,” Chapado explained. “I have never spoken to the athlete“I talked to their representative -Mustard-, but it was only three minutes to find out the statement they were going to release, nothing more,” the president said. Katir warned in his statement that he would continue to defend himself at “appropriate opportunities” to prove his innocence and avoid a punishment that could shorten his career to 25 years.

Katir’s choices to go to the Games
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“If Katir wants to continue competing must follow with the eligibility criteria established by the RFEA in 2017 and where it is very clear that an athlete representing Spain cannot be immersed in any approval process for doping” said Raúl Chapado. This means that the Murcian of Moroccan origin will not be able to attend the Paris Games until the case is closed and his intention to request precautionary measures will be useless. “The only way The athlete’s only task is to prove his innocence and close the case. If one of the location errors is found to be false, you will not have all three errors for 12 months and will not receive any penalty. Will be eligible to compete,” he explained, without specifying deadlines or confirming whether the case will be resolved in time to reach Paris.