Dope cheats to get additional Euro champs ban

LONDON, Mar 7 (Reuters) European Athletics (EA) have ruled that athletes found guilty of major doping offences will be ineligible to compete in European championships for a minimum of two years after their suspension ends.

The decision to change the competition entry regulations was announced on Wednesday after the European Athletics council meeting in Birmingham, central England.

''The Council has unanimously decided that competing in our championships represents a special privilege and that we must not allow the negative notoriety of the small number of athletes who cheat to spoil the experience or distract attention from those who follow the rules,'' EA president Hansjoerg Wirz said in a statement.

''Our message is very clear and we will do what it takes to ensure the credibility of the sport and protect the health of athletes and young people'' added Wirz.

EA plan to put the proposal to August's International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) congress in Osaka, Japan where the world championships are to be held.

''IAAF president Lamine Diack and general secretary Pierre Weiss were both at the council meeting and were confident it would be passed at their level,'' EA spokesman Pierce O'Callaghan said.

The extra suspension is to begin on the day an athlete is cleared to compete by the IAAF after a doping ban. However, those athletes will still be able to part in international invitational or national level competitions.

Under the new rule, Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou would not have been allowed to compete at last weekend's European indoor championships in Birmingham, having served a two-year suspension for doping violations, which ended in December.

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