Tuesday 19 July 2016 19:27, UK
The IOC is seeking legal advice on the possibility of banning Russia from the Rio Olympics following the damning evidence of widespread state-sponsored doping by Russian athletes at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
IOC president Thomas Bach held a conference call with fellow officials on Tuesday to discuss the governing body's next course of action and a statement released after that meeting confirmed disciplinary proceedings have been opened against officials within the Russian Ministry of Sport and others mentioned in the report released on Monday.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has called for a complete ban on all Russian athletes from the Games, adding that Russian government officials should be denied access to international competitions. Russia's track-and-field athletes have already been banned by the IAAF.
The statement confirmed 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".
It continued: "In this respect, the IOC will have to take the CAS decision on 21 July 2016 concerning the IAAF rules into consideration, as well as the World Anti-Doping Code and the Olympic Charter."
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 IOC has also confirmed that no one from the Russian Ministry of Sport will be given accreditation for Rio and that it is to begin "reanalysis, including forensic analysis, and a full inquiry into all Russian athletes who participated in the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 and their coaches, officials and support staff".
Russia's Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko says he is ready to cancel plans to travel to Rio for the Games, although he again denied any state involvement in doping.
Quoted by the Interfax news agency, Mutko said: "I can say once again, there are no state doping schemes in Russia."
The IOC will also not be organising or give patronage to any sports event or meeting in Russia, including any planning for the European Games 2019, which is organised by the European Olympic Committees (EOC).
Russia's Deputy Sports Minister Yury Nagornykh has already been suspended by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev until the end of an internal inquiry.
A statement on the WADA website said: "Accordingly, WADA recommends to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to consider, under their respective charters, to decline entries, for Rio 2016, of all athletes submitted by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and the Russian Paralympic Committee.
"Furthermore, any exceptional entry of a Russian athlete should be considered by the IOC and IPC for participation under a neutral flag and in accordance with very strict criteria.
"WADA also recommends that Russian Government officials be denied access to international competitions, including Rio 2016."
President of WADA, Sir Craig Reedie, told Sky Sports News HQ he had never encountered such a report and spoke of an "alliance" between the Russian Ministry and Moscow laboratory.
Reedie said: "I've never come across a report like this which indicated that the government of one country, in alliance with a laboratory, was manipulating results totally in favour of their own athletes and to do it over such a prolonged period and to do it for different events, so it is a challenge to the anti-doping system.
"People have said 'your system doesn't work', I think the system works reasonably well but it is not perfect if people go out of their way to cheat, so we have a number of challenges going forward in seeing how we can make sure this never happens again."
He added: "We have to make it quite clear that as an organisation, we are not empowered to enact these decisions. This is the decision of the International Olympic Committee, as far as the Games are concerned.
"I am really encouraged by the press release that has come from the president of the IOC [Thomas Bach] where he is talking about attacks on integrity and the Games and that he will respond very firmly.
"The fact that there is a bit out there on the wire, I think that is a hopeful expression by a member of my staff, but it is serious, the whole report from Richard McLaren. It indicates an alliance of the Russian Ministry and the Moscow laboratory and a process of cheating the system which is just unacceptable."
