Sports Ministry sees no prospects for Russian athletes' lawsuits in CAS - ARAF chief
SAMARA. Aug 3 (Interfax) - The Russian Sports Ministry thinks Russian athletes should defend their name in civil courts, not in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Dmitry Shlyakhtin, President of the All-Russia Athletics Federation (ARAF), told journalists.
"The sports ministry's opinion is that civil courts are the way forward, CAS is not a kind of court with which one could count on something," Shlyakhin said in Samara on Wednesday.
Efforts are underway to sort out material aid for athletes and covering of their legal fees, he said.
"Each lawsuit costs roughly 15,000 Swiss francs, not every athlete can find this money and sue," he said.
At the same time, "to date the Federation does not have the money to help these track and field athletes," he said.
"This is down to the big expenses [incurred] during precisely an unplanned testing period: we paid 600,000 euros for these tests alone, plus 56,000 francs was paid for the legal claims from 15 athletes, which after its disqualification the federation had to take upon itself," the ARAF president said.
Despite absence of the money, he hopes it will still be found. "I think we will find the money: we'll help so as to have at least some precedents," he said.
