Wada strips Russian anti-doping lab of accreditation following bombshell report into “deeply rooted culture of cheating”
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has suspended the accreditation of Moscow's drug-testing lab in response to the damning report which alleged Russia had been running a systemic doping programme in athletics.
An independent report on behalf of Wada found evidence of the deliberate destruction of 1,417 test samples, the cover-up of positive results and even the presence of secret service employees from the FSB inside the Moscow Anti-Doping Centre.
The anti-doping lab has now been banned from handling any urine and blood samples with immediate effect for six months with immediate effect.
Wada said in a statement:
In the interim, samples analysed by the Moscow Anti-doping Centere shall be transported securely, promptly and with a demonstrable chain of custody to another Wada-accredited laboratory.
Read more: Doping claims leave Russia facing exile
Russian athletics could face further repercussions from the damaging report after Wada called for all its athletes to be banned from competition, potentially including next year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Sebastian Coe, the under-fire president of the IAAF, has called for the council of the athletics governing body to discuss the possibility of sanctions against Russian athletics on Friday.