A RUSSIAN doctor has been banned for life from any involvement in athletics.

    The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said Monday “clear evidence” showed Dr. Sergei Portugalov doped athletes.

    A 2015 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report said he was “very active in the conspiracy to cover up athletes’ positive tests in exchange for a percentage of their winnings.”

    “As a consequence, a lifetime period of ineligibility has been imposed,” CAS said.

    Last year’s WADA-commissioned McLaren report said more than 1,000 Russia sportsmen and women had benefitted from a state-sponsored doping program. Russian athletes are banned from competition by athletics’ governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), until it is happy the country’s anti-doping measures stand up to scrutiny.

    Russia’s anti-doping agency, Rusada, is also working to have its credentials restored.

    Senior figures in athletics and at WADA have welcomed Russia’s work on restoring its anti-doping program but have stressed the country still has a lot to do.

    Speaking at a WADA conference Monday, the organization’s president, Craig Reedie, said: “There remains significant work to do. It must demonstrate its processes are autonomous and independent from outside interference.”(SD-Agencies)