The Moscow City Court finally upheld the status of Olympic champion for bobsledder Zubkov, despite the protest of the Russian Olympic Committee

The appeal panel of the Moscow City Court upheld the decision not to recognize the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport to deprive Russian bobsledder Aleksandar Zubkov of an Olympic medal due to doping, RAPSI writes , citing a correspondent in the courtroom.

“Refuse to satisfy the private complaint of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) against the ruling of the court of first instance on the application of Alexander Zubkov about non-recognition of the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport,” the judge announced the decision.

Later, the Moscow City Court noticed that the court did not recognize the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport on the territory of Russia in the part that referred to Zubkov’s violations of anti-doping rules. The Moscow City Court did not consider the issue of enforcement of the decision regarding the deprivation of his diploma for winning the Olympic Games in Sochi.

At the same time, as the athlete’s lawyer Artem Patsev explained to RIA Novosti, non-recognition of the provisions on violations of anti-doping rules preserves the status of Zubkov’s Olympic champion. “The fact is that our legislation has benefits that come into force if a person is a winner or medalist of the Olympics. In order for them to act, Zubkov must be considered not to have committed anti-doping violations during the Sochi Olympics,” the lawyer said.

Previously, the International Olympic Committee stripped Zubkov of the title of champion and banned him for life from participating in the games, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport softened the decision and replaced the lifelong ban with missing one Olympic cycle. On November 21, 2018, the Moscow City Court granted Zubkov’s claim for non-recognition of the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Two weeks later, the Russian Olympic Committee appealed this decision.

The ROC emphasized that refusal to follow the provisions of the IOC Olympic Charter could threaten the Russian team's exclusion from the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020. In addition, the Moscow City Court could not review the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport because it is not within its jurisdiction, which extends only to the territory of Russia.

Alexander Zubkov heads the Russian Bobsleigh Federation. He received two Olympic gold medals at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Updated January 14 at 12:03 p.m. The news was supplemented by explanations from the Moscow City Court and the athlete’s lawyer.