WADA has revoked the accreditation of the Athens Laboratory ©Getty Images

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has revoked the accreditation of the Athens Laboratory due to non-compliances with the International Standard for Laboratories (ISL).

A recommendation to revoke the accreditation was made by the WADA Disciplinary Committee.

The move was endorsed by the WADA Executive Committee during an extraordinary meeting yesterday.

"The Athens Laboratory, which was already suspended, was immediately notified of the ExCo decision; and, as such, remains ineligible to analyze doping control samples for Anti-Doping Organisations that are compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code," a WADA statement read.

"Pursuant to Article 13.7 of the Code, the Laboratory may appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 21 days of its receipt of the decision.

"The Athens Laboratory was also informed that if the Laboratory wished to seek WADA accreditation in the future, it may request that WADA expedite the re-accreditation procedure, which shall be approved by the WADA ExCo, in accordance with Article 4.6.6.2 of the ISL."

WADA initially suspended the accreditation of the Athens Laboratory in October 2019, citing a "lack of institutional support and investment".

Non-conformities with the international standard were found by WADA during an inspection of the facility in the Greek capital.

The lack of funding in the laboratory was among the issues uncovered by inspectors from the global anti-doping watchdog.

An initial six month suspension was extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as it was determined the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted the laboratory’s ability to address the non-compliances identified and to regain its accreditation.

The Athens Laboratory had its accreditation initially suspended in October 2019 ©Getty Images
The Athens Laboratory had its accreditation initially suspended in October 2019 ©Getty Images

The WADA said the laboratory provided multiple updates on its situation during the extended suspension, while a remote WADA assessment was conducted.

The organisation said its Laboratory Expert Group reviewed the findings of the assessment and concluded the laboratory had not satisfactorily addressed the identified non-compliances with the ISL and could not operate at the level expected of a WADA-accredited Laboratory.

A disciplinary procedure took place to revoke the accreditation, during which the Athens Laboratory was afforded opportunities to make written representations.

The WADA Disciplinary Committee issued its reasoned recommendation to the Executive Committee, which concluded the laboratory’s accreditation should be revoked.

The decision was approved yesterday.