The United States has withheld a dues payment of $3.6m to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for not conducting an independent audit of operations, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said. USADA Chief Executive Officer Travis Tygart said on Wednesday his group “fully supports this decision” by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy “as the only right choice to protect athletes’ rights,

A war of words that has gone on for months became more substantive when the United States did not make its $3.6 million payment before a Dec. 31 deadline.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) is facing a crisis after the US Government refused to make a US$3.6 million ($6.43m) contribution to the global watchdog’s annual budget amid an ongoing row over a doping scandal involving Chinese swimmers.