Russia faces Olympic ban after hugely critical WADA report

GENEVA -- Russian track and field athletes could be banned from next year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro after a devastatingly critical report accused the country's government of complicity in widespread doping and cover-ups.

The World Anti-Doping Agency commission set up to investigate doping in Russia said even the country's intelligence service, the FSB, was involved, spying on Moscow's anti-doping lab, including during last year's Olympics in Sochi.

The commission chaired by Dick Pound recommended that WADA immediately declare the Russian athletics federation "non-compliant" with the global anti-doping code, and that the IAAF suspend the federation from competition.

"It's worse than we thought," Pound said. "It may be a residue of the old Soviet Union system."

The IAAF responded immediately, saying it will consider sanctions against Russia, including a possible suspension of the athletics federation that would ban Russian track and field athletes from international competition, including the Olympics.

"If they are suspended -- and it sounds like the IAAF is moving in that direction already -- and they are still suspended at the time of Rio, there will be no Russian track and field athletes there," Pound said in an interview with The Associated Press after the release of his commission's findings.

He said Russia's doping could be called state-sponsored. "They would certainly have known," he said of Russian officials.

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To the AP, he added: "We have finally identified one of the major powers as being involved in this. It's not just small countries or little pockets. This is a major sporting country. It's got to be a huge embarrassment."

Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, whose ministry was accused by the WADA probe of giving orders to cover up doping violations, insisted Russia's problems are no worse than in other countries and said Russia is being persecuted, telling the Interfax news agency: "Whatever we do, everything is bad."

He threatened to cut all government funding for anti-doping work, saying "if we have to close this whole system, we would be happy to" because "we will only save money."

Pound said there still might be time for Russia to avoid the "nuclear weapon" of a ban from the Olympics if it starts reforming immediately. That work will take at least "several months" and "there are a lot of people who are going to have to walk the plank before this happens," he said.

"I think they can do it. I hope they can," he added.