"The current Sports Act obliges athletes and coaches to comply with the anti-doping rules, and an athlete who has been found to have used banned substances or refused doping tests will lose their right to receive state sports grants and subsidies for the duration of the ban," said Margus Klaan, head of the ministry's sports department.

"The amendment seeks to impose, at the level of the law, the obligation to comply with anti-doping rules not only on athletes and coaches, but also on support staff. It also seeks to add to the list of offenses, the manipulation of sporting competitions and other breaches of sporting ethics, the prevention of which is increasingly topical today."

According to the ministry, it is not appropriate for the state to pay grants to athletes during periods when they are under sanction for breaching ethical or sporting regulations.

"In order to have a preventive effect, in addition to stopping the payment of state support, the possibility will be created for the donor to reimburse any state subsidies already paid out, which were awarded after the violation was committed but before it was detected or the sanction imposed," Klaan continued.

"There is currently no legal basis for this. The amendment would affect grants, scholarships and prizes paid from the state budget, as well as athlete grants and athlete allowances paid by sports organizations."

The Ministry of Culture aims to submit the draft bill to the government in August in order for the Riigikogu to begin processing it in early September.

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