Your story has an error in fact. He is not banned from all skating (shows and tours) just all future ISU competitions. His eligibility is NOT for one year. It is for ALL future ISU competitions. He has 21 days to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in the Hague (CAS). If he loses his appeal, his loss of ISU eligibility will be permanent.

Plushenko is the best, he was judged unfairly on Olympic Games, but Russian Olympic Federation didn't support him, they didn't appeal the decision. how can Plushenko have any desire to work with such Federation??

Plushenko WAS judged fairly....his quality was not up to par....he didn't strategize and use the point system wisely in his program. If you are going to compete in the IJS system, you should know how to use it. Landings weak, footwork not as strong as Lysacek, overall not as clean, spins weaker. He thought that just the quad should give him the win. His sportsmanship after the Olympics was beyond poor....he should have been banned for that instead of this.

Plushenko was cheated at the Olympics. Lysacek's efforts are at the level of an average junior skater here. That is why the rules had to be nobbled. Skating is meant to be a sport with physical effort, not a little dance or junior field moves test. Western skating mom's have taken this sport and degraded it down to their little petty rinkside bikering and sequins show. It's always easy to question a landing, when a very weak and incapable skater can't even take off! The ISU has removed the challenge, removed the spectacle, removed the risk. It's just been reduced to show skating with lower risk elements, but without the show. People may even quite rightfully question now, if it indeed it meets the characteristics of a sport under ISU rules or should be classified as an art exhibition. In fairness to dance, they have sought to increase the sporting element, increase the effort, over and above art, its just a travesty that free, chose to remove the very physical challenges that others are striving to achieve. I suppose in 2014, kids will be winning free with a free jump with a nice jelled hairstyle. I will be watching the hockey only from now on, as I like sport!

You would have to be blind to think that Lysacek's efforts were that of a junior level skater in Russia. I have been to many ISU competitions and Russian skaters are not medal winners. Why do you think Plushenko was back in competition? He skated sub par on all of his elements (even the quad). In previous years, Lysacek executed the quad single or the quad/toe in many competitions. In 2009 he incurred a stress fracture in his foot. The pain was returning in training the quad for Nationals and the Olympics, so a decision was made to drop the quad to avoid further injury and to take full advantage of the CoP to win the competition. Something Plushenko did not do. Furthermore, Plushenko has sustained chronic injury to his knees because of his overtraining the quad. If he keeps this up moving on toward 2014 he will need double knee replacements in his 30's, which drs. do not relish doing. Otherwise he will not be able to walk. Being bounced out of ISU eligibility may be a blessing in disguise for him. He will be in his 30's come the next Olympics. Who has ever heard of a 30+ figure skater winning the OGM?