August 25, 2007	Saturday	Sha’aban 11, 1428

OSAKA (Japan), Aug 24: Olympic president Jacques Rogge has said that athletes caught doping, even for minor offences, would automatically be banned from the next Games.

Only a plea bargain could save them from the ban, and even then the information traded must be highly important in the crusade against cheats, Rogge told reporters.

Flanked by the world athletics body (IAAF) chairman Lamine Diack, Rogge underlined the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) commitment to rid sport of drug cheats.

The IOC’s Executive Board, meeting before the IAAF world championships in Osaka, discussed a series of measures aimed at strengthening the fight, Rogge said.

Under the new measures, athletes who received suspensions of six months or more would be banned from competing at the subsequent Olympics.

But the IOC will reserve the right to reduce penalties.

The IOC’s toughened stance echoed Thursday’s calls by the IAAF for four-year bans for doping offences. Diack called on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to impose stronger penalties for drug offences, including a four-year ban for serious first-time violations. — Reuters