Spanish Olympic Committee Against Banning Russia From 2016 Rio Olympics

MADRID (Sputnik) — On Monday, an independent commission led by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren presented a report, accusing Russia of having run a state-sponsored doping program. The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is scheduled to convene a telephone conference on Tuesday to discuss possible measures and sanctions in regard to participation of Russia's athletes in the Rio Olympics.

Also on Tuesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will consider an appeal against the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) decision to ban Russian athletes from international competitions.

"The COE is strongly against the entire Russian team to be subject to sanctions" the source said.

He added that the majority of Russian athletes are "clean" and, that is why, the "indiscriminate punishment" should not be used. The general application of sanctions is a "discrimination on the basis of descent," the source explained.

McLaren's report has sparked a wave of criticism from the Russian side. All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF) head Dmitry Shlyakhtin dismissed the findings of the report, expressing hope that it would not impact the CAS decision. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia would carry out an investigation of the allegations, with Russian officials implicated as direct perpetrators to be suspended.