MONTREAL: The World Anti-Doping Agency announced the reinstatement of the Doping Control Laboratory of Madrid on Friday almost a year after it was barred from conducting anti-doping tests.

The Madrid lab had its accreditation suspended on June 6, 2016, a move that WADA said was a direct result of the world anti-doping body’s March 2016 decision to declare Spain “non-compliant” with the World Anti-Doping Code.

That ruling followed Spain’s delay in updating its laws in line with WADA’s stricter code introduced in 2015.

The delay was blamed on a 10-month political deadlock that left Spain without a ruling government from December 2015 to October of last year.

“WADA is pleased to confirm that the Madrid Laboratory’s accreditation has been reinstated following the Spanish Anti-Doping Agency’s return to compliance,” WADA Director General Olivier Niggli said in a statement.

“Given the specific circumstances of their suspension, WADA is confident that the laboratory will continue to operate to the high standards required.”

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2017