TASS, November 15. Alterations in the database of the Moscow Lab are casting shadow not just over retired Russian athletes, but also over the active ones, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Compliance Review Committee Chair Jonathan Taylor said.

On September 23, the WADA Executive Committee opened a probe of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) compliance with the international code. The probe was launched after inconsistencies emerged in the database of Russian athletes’ doping samples taken in 2012-2015. The database was sealed off in the Moscow Lab as part of a federal investigation. The database was later retrieved by WADA with the Russian Sports Ministry’s participation. Preservation of its integrity was a condition for RUSADA’s reinstatement last September.

"[The changes in the Moscow Lab database cast] a shadow over current athletes [if their data] hasn’t been properly provided," the Sportschau sports magazine quoted Taylor as saying.

A meeting of experts from WADA and Russia was scheduled for November 14. The WADA Compliance Review Committee is set to meet on November 17 when RUSADA status recommendations could be drafted. WADA’s Executive Committee can deliver its final decision on RUSADA’s compliance status already on December 9 based on these recommendations.

WADA’s new International Standard for Code Compliance by Signatories sets out that athletes of the countries whose national anti-doping agencies fail to comply with the code can be banned from international competitions, including Olympic Games.