Rio 2016: IOC to ‘explore legal options’ to banning Russia’s participation at Olympic Games

Russia has denied state-sponsored doping of its athletes who competed at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. Andy Wong / AP Photo

BERN // Russia's participation in the Rio Olympics remained in the balance on Tuesday after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it would "explore legal options" for banning the country from the Games.

The IOC also said Tuesday it had barred Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko and other Russian ministry officials from attending the Rio Games after the revelation of a state-run doping system.

At an emergency IOC Executive Board meeting in Switzerland, the day after an independent report detailed a systematic and state-run doping programme in Russia, members fell short of an immediate ban but they did issue a series of measures relating to the report.

“With regard to the participation of Russian athletes in the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the IOC will carefully evaluate the IP Report,” a statement said.

“It will explore the legal options with regard to a collective ban of all Russian athletes for the Olympic Games 2016 versus the right to individual justice.”

It added that the committee would have to take into consideration the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision due on Thursday concerning the IAAF rules, as well as the World Anti-Doping Code and the Olympic Charter.

See also:

• 'Mouse hole' and FSB agents in disguise: The Cold War thriller of Russia's doping scandal

• Rio 2016: Summer Olympic sports willing to avoid complete ban of Russia

CAS is due to rule on the dispute between Russia, 68 of its athletes and the governing body of world athletics over their Rio participation after the IAAF banned the country from the Rio track and field programme.

The report, commissioned by Wada, the World Anti-Doping Agency, and compiled by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren, on Monday revealed evidence of widespread state-sponsored doping by Russian sports men and women and extensive cover-ups, particularly in the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in the Russian city of Sochi.

Positive tests were covered up and “dirty” urine samples swapped with “clean” ones with methods developed by the domestic intelligence service (FSB), while deputy sports minister Yuri Nagornykh decided which athletes would be protected.

Nagornykh is among officials to have been suspended by the Kremlin since the report was released on Monday.

The IOC said on Tuesday it had started disciplinary action against officials mentioned in the report and that anyone implicated would not be given accreditation for Rio.

Given the report’s details of extensive cover-ups of positive tests in Sochi, the IOC has ordered the immediate retesting of all Russian athletes who took part, as well as a full inquiry.

It also instructed all international Winter Olympic Winter Sports Federations to freeze their preparations for major events in Russia.

It also said it would not back the European Games, scheduled for the country in 2019.

Responding to the ICO statement, Mutko said there was no state-backed doping scheme in Russia, Interfax news agency reported.

“I can say once again, there are no state doping schemes in Russia,” Mutko was quoted as saying.

But the IOC added in its statement that it would “not grant any accreditation to any official of the Russian Ministry of Sport or any person implicated in the [independent] report for the Games of the XXXI Olympiad Rio 2016”.

Earlier Tuesday, summer Olympic sports federations made clear they do not support a blanket ban on Russia for Rio, and prefer doping was handled on an individual basis.

The Association of Summer Olympic International Federation asked Wada “to immediately provide all the detailed information to the 20 international federations concerned so that they may begin processing the individual cases under their own separate rules and regulations as soon as possible, and in line with the Wada Code and the Olympic Charter.

“It is important to focus on the need for individual justice in all these cases.”

The association said it endorses all federation decisions, “including those that take into account collective responsibility of organisations under the IFs’ governance”.

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