Spain sports declared 'non-compliant' with WADA code

Spain have failed to comply with the world anti-doping code, with the absence of a government preventing its application, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Saturday.

Spain, Mexico, Belgium, France, Brazil and Greece had been given until March 18 to implement rules compliant with the WADA Code which came into effect on January 1, 2015. All sorted out their problems apart from Spain and Mexico.

"The National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) of Spain and Mexico, however, have not resolved their respective issues, and are therefore declared non-compliant with the Code," WADA said in a statement.

Countries declared non-compliant risk losing accreditation for their testing laboratories and their athletes and country being banned from competing in or hosting major events including the Rio Olympics in August.

"While the Spanish NADO has been declared non-compliant, WADA recognizes that there is currently no sitting government in the country, and therefore understands the difficulties the country is facing with resolving its outstanding issues at this time," the statement continued.

Spain has been locked in political paralysis since December's elections, leaving a hung parliament divided among four main parties, none of them with enough seats to govern alone.

WADA added that "while the Mexican NADO has been declared non-compliant, WADA acknowledges the Government's recent efforts; and, is hopeful that the necessary work will be completed in the very near future".