Doping scandal: Russian athletes suspended after IAAF and Sebastian Coe get tough

Russian athletes have been suspended from all international competitions with immediate effect after the IAAF council voted for their removal in the wake of recent doping revelations.

The 27-member Council voted 22-1 for an immediate ban for Russia, with the country’s representative Mikhail Bukov not eligible to vote and with three abstentions from the council.

IAAF president Sebastian Coe described evidence of a state-sponsored doping programme in the country as “a shameful wake-up call”. He said: “We are clear that cheating at any level will not be tolerated.”

No timeframe has been put on the Russian suspension but, in the short term, it means they are ineligible to compete at next month’s European Cross Country Championship in France.

It also jeopardises their involvement in March’s World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon, while the council also made the decision to remove the country as hosts of two IAAF-sanctioned events.

Russia had been due to host the World Junior Championships in Kazan in July as well as the World Race Walking Championships in Cheboksary earlier in 2016.

As for their involvement in next year’s Olympics, Coe said the door was still open but warned Russia would have to pull out all the stops to gain their place in Rio de Janeiro.

“It is entirely up to the Russian [Athletic] Federation and Russia to enact those changes,” he said. “Our verification team will be tough and will make sure if there is an introduction for those athletes, that changes have been made.”

Rune Andersen, an independent anti-doping expert, along with three members of the IAAF council, will be appointed by the beginning of next week to lead an inspection into Russian doping.

Meanwhile, Coe has brought in Paul Deighton, the former chief executive of London 2012, to supervise a reform programme of the IAAF and accountants from Deloitte have already been tasked with poring through the body’s books amid widespread allegations against Coe’s predecessor Lamine Diack and the former head of the IAAF’s anti-doping programme Gabriel Dollé. The pair are accused of corruption, bribery and money laundering.

The decision was made at the offices of CSM Sport & Entertainment in London via a conference call to the other delegates in the council.

Butov was given the opportunity to defend Russia and argue why his country should not be banned, before he was removed from the call, the issue debated and a vote taken.

Coe has been under fire since Diack’s arrest and even more since evidence of widespread doping was revealed in the World Anti-Doping Agency independent commission report unveiled by Dick Pound in Geneva on Monday.

But the former Olympic champion sounded a combative note after the decision of the council.

He said: “This is not about politics, this is about the protection of clean athletes. The message of the council could not be stronger.”

Coe also effectively gave himself and the IAAF as a whole a public slap on the wrists for the position in which it finds itself after suspending only the fifth country from competition in its 103-year history.

He added: “This makes me angry. We find ourselves in a shameful position tonight. We need to look at ourselves. I have conceded that we need to learn some tough lessons.”