IOC support 'toughest sanctions' after WADA recommends Russia ban
The IOC described manipulation of data in a Moscow laboratory as "an attack on the credibility of sport"
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will support the "toughest sanctions" on individuals found to have manipulated data at a Moscow laboratory, as Russia faces the prospect of a global sporting ban.
A World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) panel recommended the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) be declared non-compliant again over inconsistencies in anti-doping data discovered during an investigation.
WADA's independent Compliance Review Committee (CRC) recommended strong sanctions be imposed on Russia, including a four-year ban from competing in and hosting major sporting events.
Russian athletes may once again have to compete as neutrals at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and be prevented from competing under their flag at the next Winter Olympics.
WADA's Executive Committee (ExCo) will consider the CRC's recommendation at a specially convened meeting in Paris on December 9.
An IOC statement said in a statement on Tuesday: "The International Olympic Committee condemns in the strongest terms the actions of those responsible for the manipulation of the Moscow Laboratory data before it was transferred to the World Anti-Doping Agency in January 2019.
"The flagrant manipulation is an attack on the credibility of sport itself and is an insult to the sporting movement worldwide. The IOC will support the toughest sanctions against all of those responsible with the manipulation."