Russian foreign ministry criticises 'biased' WADA doping report

They also said that banning the entire Russian track and field team would be “absolutely unacceptable”.

The Russian foreign ministry has criticised a report accusing the country of engaging in extensive, state-sponsored doping as “biased” and “politicised”.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said “no one asks for or listens to the arguments of the Russian side” and that sources for information in the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) report appeared to be “extremely doubtful”.

She also said that banning the entire Russian track and field team would be “absolutely unacceptable” and would mark “an attempt to introduce the principle of collective punishment into the area of sport”.

Her comments came a day after President Vladimir Putin said clean athletes should be left free to compete and ordered Russian officials to conduct an independent investigation.

Meanwhile, Olympic hopefuls in Russia remained upbeat about their chances of competing in next year’s Games in Rio de Janeiro.

At a training camp near Sochi, the host city of last year’s Winter Olympics, some athletes wondered why the focus is firmly on Russia.

Maxim Sidorov, a shot putter who competed at the 2012 Olympics, says even if Russian athletes were guilty of doping, “other countries do it as well. Why aren’t they disqualified?”

Former European 400-metre relay champion Ksenia Aksyonova said “everywhere there are problems”.

Her coach Rif Babikov added that a ban for Russia would be “a disaster for athletes” comparable to the 1980 and 1984 Olympic boycotts when “nothing good” came out of it.