WADA Revokes Lisbon Anti-Doping Lab Accreditation

By Adam Kopet

Liam Morgan of Inside the Games reports the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has revoked the accreditation of the Lisbon, Portugal, anti-doping laboratory.

The Lisbon lab has reportedly suffered from ongoing issues that caused it to lose its accreditation. The lab was suspended for six months in April 2016 for irregularities. That suspension was extended to a full year.

Despite continued issues at the Lisbon lab, WADA did not revoke the lab's accreditation until now, because a full on-site analysis of the lab had not been conducted. The recent analysis found the Lisbon lab was not operating at required levels and further non-conforming issues were found.

The Lisbon lab will be able to apply for expedited reinstatement, should it choose to do so.

Currently, the anti-doping labs in Bogota, Colombia, Bucharest, Romania and Stockholm, Sweden, are suspended. Stockholm is a current candidate city to host the 2026 Winter Olympics and the Romanian Anti-Doping Laboratory is under investigation after it was admitted positive doping samples were covered up.