The South African flag will continue to fly at the rugby and cricket World Cup tournaments, as confirmed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) late on Tuesday night.
This decision comes after South Africa’s anti-doping legislation was deemed non-compliant by WADA, which could have resulted in several forfeits, including the national flag not being flown at international tournaments.
In an effort to avoid these punitive actions, the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (Saids) challenged WADA, leading to the matter being referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland.
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WADA stated that the allegation of non-compliance is currently on hold and the consequences will not apply until CAS makes its ruling.
Sport minister Zizi Kodwa expressed his belief that the grounds for appeal were strong and that the sanctions imposed were not appropriate. He instructed Saids to challenge WADA’s non-compliance declaration.
Another potential sanction would have prevented South Africa from bidding for and hosting international sports events, potentially affecting the country’s bid to bring the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
WADA explained that the non-compliance was due to South Africa’s anti-doping legislation not aligning with the World Anti-Doping Code from 2021. Saids had 21 days to dispute WADA’s allegation of non-compliance and the proposed consequences.
WADA has now received formal notification from Saids that it disputes the allegation and the proposed consequences, and the matter will be referred to CAS for consideration.
The South African government has been swift in its response to address the non-compliance issue.
Amendments to the Saids Act have already been presented to the cabinet, and the Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture is working diligently to update the anti-doping legislation.
The Saids Amendment Bill has been approved by the cabinet and will soon be tabled to parliament. The government is confident that WADA will recognize these efforts as a commitment to passing the amended legislation and suspending the non-compliance declaration.
While the punitive consequences of the non-compliance declaration were set to take effect on Friday, just two days before the Springboks’ match against France, World Athletics preemptively refused to allow the South African teams at the World Road Running Championships in Riga to use the flag at the water tables.
Instead, they used the abbreviation RSA, and the runners, supported by team officials in official kit, were not hindered in any way, with the men even securing the team bronze.
The Proteas, who are scheduled to play Australia on Thursday, would have played the Netherlands in their first match under the threatened non-compliance consequences next week Tuesday.
