IOC to study legal options on Russia ban from Olympics

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it will study “legal options” on banning Russia from the Rio Olympic Games and ordered disciplinary action against Russian officials implicated in a state-run doping system.

The IOC executive held emergency telephone talks after a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) commissioned report said there had been state-sanctioned doping at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and other major events.

The IOC “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,” in said in a statement on Tuesday.

WADA: Ban Russians from Rio Olympics on doping claims

But the Olympic leadership will have to wait for a Court of Arbitration for Sports decision expected to arrive on Thursday regarding the cases of 68 Russian athletes appealing against an IAAF ban.

The IOC also said it would have to study the bombshell report by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren that detailed the Russian cheating, organised by the Sports Ministry and using Russia’s FSB intelligence service.

A final decision would also depend on the WADA code and the Olympic Charter, the IOC said, giving an indication of the legal battle ahead.

The executive board ordered a re-analysis of all samples by Russian athletes taken at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and action against the sports ministry.

The IOC said it had “started disciplinary actions related to the involvement of officials within the Russian Ministry of Sports and other persons mentioned in the report,” said the statement.

READ MORE: IAAF upholds Rio Olympics ban on Russia over doping

The Olympic leadership also called for a halt to international events in Russia.

“IOC is also saying that it will not organise any form of international sports event Olympic or otherwise in Russia, right up until December 2016, end of this year,” said Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, reporting from Moscow.

“Because of the detailed references to the manipulation of samples during the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 the IOC asks all International Olympic Winter Sports Federations to freeze their preparations for major events in Russia,” the IOC report said.

Russian minister Mutko barred from Rio Games

The IOC also barred Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko and other ministry officials from attending the Rio Games after the revelation of the state-run doping system.

“The IOC will 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,” said the IOC statement.

Mutko said on Tuesday that he hoped the IOC would make a rational decision about the participation of Russian athletes at the Rio Olympic Games, Interfax news agency reported