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IOC Discusses Historic Decision on Russia Squad Ban

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is to discuss its decision on whether Russia will be allowed to take part in next month's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The moves comes a day after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) published a report condemning state-sponsored doping in the Russian team during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

WADA called for Russia to be banned from this summer's Olympics and Paralympic games after its investigation found that a “vast majority” of urine samples from Russian athletes were manipulated with the help of the Russian Sports Ministry and the Federal Security Service to cover up the existence of performance-enhancing drugs. WADA has asked the IOC to decline entry for all Russian athletes to the 2016 competition.

IOC president Thomas Bach has called the Russian doping scandal a “shocking and unprecedented attack on the integrity of sport and on the Olympic Games” and promised the “toughest sanctions available.”

The 62 year-old German is expected to announce his decision today or tomorrow during a telephone press conference.

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