Lawyer Accuses BOA Of 'Colonial Arrogance'

Dwain Chambers' agent has criticised the British Olympic Association for their "colonial arrogance" after the sprinter's lifetime Olympic ban was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Chambers, along with cyclist David Millar and other British athletes who have served doping bans, were cleared to compete at this year's London Olympics after the BOA's lifetime Games ban on drug cheats was overturned.

"In my view as hosts for the 2012 Olympics, this delicate and emotive issue required international diplomacy, foresight and responsibility," Siza Agha, who is also a barrister, said in a statement.

"It has in my view been an exposure of colonial arrogance that even the most extreme and blinkered should have realised could only serve to marginalise British opinion on the international stage."

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) wanted the BOA to fall in line with its doping code which provides for a maximum two-year ban for a first offence.

WADA director general David Howman says the British Olympic Association has "been held up to ridicule".

But BOA chairman Lord Moynihan described the outcome as a "hollow victory for WADA" and said they would be pushing for tougher sanctions and reform for doping offences in the global code.