World Cup Anti-Doping Lab Loses License

The World Anti-Doping Agency today revoked the license of the Rio de Janeiro anti-doping lab that was supposed to handle player samples for the upcoming World Cup. With just 10 months to go before the tournament, the WADA suspended the lab, citing "repeated failures" in its work. The lab "will no longer be authorized to carry out the testing of doping control samples on behalf of WADA or any testing authority," the watchdog said in a statement.

Managers at the laboratory can file an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport before the revocation takes effect, or the lab can reapply for accreditation on a fast-track schedule. It is the second public embarrassment for Brazil's only WADA-accredited center during preparations to host the two biggest events in world sports. In 2012, the Rio lab was barred from performing isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) tests for nine months after falsely accusing a Brazilian beach volleyball player of doping with testosterone. (More Rio de Janeiro stories.)