LONDON — The World Anti-Doping Agency's decision to lift a ban on Russia's anti-doping agency is a triumph for money over clean sport, WADA's former director general said on Friday.

David Howman strongly criticized WADA president Craig Reedie for caving in to pressure from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and international federations eager to stage events in Russia again.

The decision was taken on Thursday at a meeting of WADA's executive committee in Victoria, capital of the Indian Ocean island of Seychelles.

"I am a little disappointed, to say the least," said Howman, who ran WADA from 2003 to 2016 and is now chairman of the Athletics Integrity Unit.

"This looks like they have taken the decision to deviate from a carefully put-together roadmap for entirely pragmatic reasons," he told Britain's Press Association.

"So WADA has gone from being an organization that cared about clean athletes to one that cares about international federations that have not been able to stage events in Russia — it's money over principle."

WADA suspended RUSADA in November 2015 after declaring it to be non-compliant following revelations of a vast Russian-backed scheme to avoid drug testers.

A WADA report by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren accused Russian authorities of running an elaborate doping program with the full support of the Russian Ministry of Sport and the Russian secret service (FSB).

WADA announced last week it had received an internal recommendation to lift the suspension of RUSADA. The softening of WADA's stance has triggered outrage from athletes and national anti-doping agencies around the world, who have accused WADA of succumbing to pressure from the IOC.

Marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe said the move undermines the faith clean athletes have in WADA. "This goes against everything WADA is supposed to stand for," she told the BBC. "It undermines their credibility and the faith clean athletes have in them."

Howman has little sympathy for the idea that Reedie, a former chairman of the British Olympic Association, had little option but to go along with the IOC's wishes. "I don't care if you are under pressure, that goes with the job," the New Zealander said.

"That's what you have to endure when you take principled stands. You are always going to upset one set of interests or another. WADA's main responsibility is to stand up for clean sport.

"The risk for WADA is that it has gone from being an independent regulator to just a service organization for sports federations. That is not what it was supposed to be."

Meanwhile, IAAF president Sebastian Coe said Thursday that Russia still has two pre-conditions to meet before they are allowed to return to international competition, despite WADA deciding to lift a ban on Russia's anti-doping agency.

WADA controversially ended a three-year suspension imposed after Russia was accused of mounting a state-sponsored doping program.

That in theory paves the way for a return to competition for Russian athletes. However, the IAAF, which has banned Russian track and field competitors, insists they remain to be convinced.

The organization’s taskforce will compile a report with a recommendation which will be presented to the IAAF Council at the beginning of December. "The reinstatement of RUSADA (the Russian anti-doping agency) was one of three pre-conditions," the IAAF said in a statement.

"The other two pre-conditions are Russian authorities must acknowledge the findings of the McLaren and Schmid Commissions that Ministry of Sport officials were implicated in the scheme to cover up the doping of Russian athletes as described in their reports.

"The Russian authorities must (also) provide access to the data from testing of samples at the Moscow lab from 2011 to 2015, so that the Athletics Integrity Unit can determine whether the suspicious findings reported in the Moscow lab's database should be pursued."

Coe said the outstanding pre-conditions will need to be discussed by the taskforce. "The setting of our own criteria and the process of evaluating progress against these criteria has served athletics well over the last three years so we will continue to rely on the taskforce and our clear roadmap for RusAF (Russian athletics federation) reinstatement until we are satisfied that the conditions have been met," said Coe.

In Hong Kong, Olympic legend Michael Phelps called for new leadership in the fight against drugs in sport on Friday after WADA’s action. The American swimming great said it was "sad" that WADA had lifted its three-year ban on Russia's RUSADA, which paves the way for Russian athletes to return to competition.

"When is an organization going to fully take responsibility and take charge to change? Because that's not what sports is," Phelps told journalists at the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum. "Sports aren't about putting performance-enhancing drugs in your body and standing up and performing."

"It's sad to see this," said Phelps, who won a record 23 Olympic gold medals in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. "I've complained about it, I've testified about it. And still nothing changes. So I guess that then leads us here and where do we go next? What else can be done?

"Somebody has to take charge and if WADA's really not going do anything about it then somebody else has to."

Phelps wasn't the only high-profile critic of WADA's move. WADA vice-president Linda Helleland, who opposed Russia's reinstatement, said it "casts a dark shadow over the credibility of the anti-doping movement".

And Jim Walden, the lawyer of Russian doping whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, called it "the greatest treachery against clean athletes in Olympic history".

"It's frustrating to see an organization like that (WADA) do this to sports," said Phelps, who appeared alongside China's NBA basketball great Yao Ming at the Hong Kong forum.

"I mean I've talked about multiple years, I don't know if I've ever completed in a clean field. That's pretty sad, that at the Olympic Games, at world championships, that you can say that. I'm just upset.

"For me being a father, that's something I'm going to tell my kids and explain to them. It's just so disappointing to see that.

"I don't believe they should be allowed to compete. If you test positive, you should not be allowed to compete. But other people don't believe that."

Australia too blasted the decision to lift a ban on Russia's anti-doping agency Friday, saying it could damage athletes' confidence in the fight against drugs. And it was also met with condemnation by the United States and others, who have accused WADA of caving in to pressure from the International Olympic Committee.

Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority chief executive David Sharpe said administrators must remember that sport was about athletes and the fans. "Today athletes have every right to feel the system has failed them," he said.

ASADA was a signatory to a statement issued prior to the meeting on Thursday which called for voting on the Russian agency RUSADA's return to be postponed until it had fully met all of the conditions in a road map created by WADA.

Sharpe said the decision strengthened his commitment to the pursuit of clean, fair sport. "More than ever athletes need to be reassured that the focus of anti-doping agencies such as ASADA remain, ensuring there is a level playing field," he said.

"ASADA is committed to working internationally with its national anti-doping partners to close the gap and strengthen their programs." — AFP