Will the Boks be playing flagless on Sunday?
Recent and widespread news reports have suggested that South Africa’s national sporting icons may be precluded from, flying the South African flag or singing the national anthem as a result of non-compliance with certain prescriptions of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Code. This is an incomprehensible prospect, particularly in view of the on-going Rugby and Cricket World Cups, and South Africa’s participation in these events as a proud sporting nation. If this proves to be a reality – albeit a deeply unfortunate one – allegations of legislative ineptness are certain to be levelled against the South African Government.
As a member and signatory of WADA – the international body responsible for leading the fight against doping in sport – South Africa is obliged to comply with all of its evolving regulatory measures. In this particular instance, the legislation in the spotlight is the Drug-Free Sport Amendment Act 25 of 2006 which is alleged to fall foul of the regulations enacted by WADA in 2021. The extent of South Africa’s non-compliance is relatively unclear at this stage but the ability of WADA to impose certain consequences is more certain.
In this context, it is noteworthy to consider WADA’s compliance and enforcement authority. WADA’s International Standard for Code Compliance for Signatories details the process in which non-compliance is identified as well as the means in which various consequences may be imposed in the absence of corrective action. The offending signatory – South Africa in this instance – will encounter difficulties in evading these consequences, irrespective of its national sovereignty. This is largely due to the obligation on the part of all other signatories and federations affiliated to WADA to give effect to these consequences, including World Rugby and the International Cricket Council (ICC): the governing bodies with jurisdiction over the two World Cups in which South Africa is currently participating.
In a desperate bid to stave off the imposition of possible sanctions, the Government has filed an official appeal against WADA’s declaration of non-compliance with its Code. This approach may prove to be effective in the short term, effectively suspending (for now) the possibility of such sanctions, but the seemingly lacklustre approach on the part of the South African Government to ensure compliance is justifiably cause for concern. This is only exaggerated by reports that the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) has repeatedly warned the Government of these possible consequences. Perhaps the prospect of flagless sporting icons and the accompanying outcry will cast the necessary spotlight on the legislative ineptness which appears to exist, possibly leading to measures being implemented to remedy this in the future.
Written by Michael Clur and Garion Malherbe
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