Athletics scandal: Russia provisionally banned from competition

Acting head of Russian Athletic Federation Vadim Zelichenok has said he's prepared to resign over the doping scandal.

Russia will learn on Friday whether its athletes are to be suspended by the sport's governing body over drug allegations.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will hold a meeting of its 27 council members to rule on the scandal, which has seen Russia accused of systematic "state-sponsored" doping.

While Russian sport officials initially dismissed outright the claims made by the World Anti-Doping Authority's independent commission (WADA), there have been growing indications that the country may accept some of the findings.

The Russian athletics federation's president Valentin Balakhnichev resigned after Germany broadcaster ARD broadcast a documentary on the scandal in December.

And Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country would hold its own investigation into alleged doping, and would cooperate with international organisations.

Vladimir Putin says it is "essential" Russia conducts its own investigation into allegations its athletes took banned substances, adding that someone needs to take personal responsibility for the problem.

In his first comments since accusations were brought by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Mr Putin said his country should cooperate with international organisations.

Russia's sports minister had previously dismissed the allegations, saying "some find it beneficial to damage the country's image".

However, ahead of a meeting with sports officials in Sochi, Putin said: "I ask the minister of sport and all our colleagues who are linked in one way or another with sport to pay this issue the greatest possible attention."

"It is essential that we conduct our own internal investigation and provide the most open - and I want to underline - the most open professional cooperation with international anti-doping structures," he added.

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The former head of world athletics, Lamine Diack, has resigned his honorary membership of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The IOC announced his resignation the day after his membership was provisionally suspended following recent corruption allegations. Mr Diack also resigned as president of the International Athletics Foundation on Tuesday.

He is under formal investigation in France for corruption and money laundering.

A possible ban on Russian athletes in the 2016 Olympics would be because "some wish to remove a direct competitor and some find it beneficial to damage the country's image", Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has reportedly said.

Mutko told the sports agency R-Sport that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency would be able to prove it acted in line with the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Former head of world athletics Lamine Diack has resigned as president of the International Athletics Foundation (IAF), the IAAF said.

The IAAF said it had received a letter from Diack confirming his resignation from the IAF, the charitable arm of the IAAF.

It comes after Diack, who is under formal investigation in France for corruption and money laundering, was provisionally suspended as an honorary member of the International Olympics Committee.

IAAF president Sebastian Coe has said he "won't fail" when asked about cleaning up athletics but accepted it is "a huge journey."

Lord Coe said: "I won't fail, but I also accept that this is a huge journey" when asked about cleaning up the sport.

Speaking at a Microsoft event in London, he added: "This is a long journey and we have to start somewhere, and I know what I have to do.

"It's actually just nice to be here for some distraction."

The IOC has provisionally suspended the former head of world athletics Lamine Diack of his honorary membership.

In a statement it said it had asked the IAAF to start disciplinary action against athletes, coaches and officials who have taken part in the Olympics Games and are accused of doping in the WADA report.

The IOC said the doping scandal in the country did not affect performances at the 2014 Sochi Games where WADA experts had given the thumbs up to testing procedures.

"The IOC studied the functioning of the WADA accredited laboratory in Sochi during the Olympic Winter Games 2014," it said.

"In this context the IOC relies on the-then report of the WADA independent observer group which makes no mention of any such irregularity. Nor was any such irregularity reported by the international experts involved, nor found by the IOC itself.

"Therefore, the IOC has no reason to question the credibility of the results of the anti-doping tests carried out at the Olympic Winter Games 2014."