LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — IOC President Thomas Bach says Russian athletes and officials proven to have been part of a doping “manipulation system” should be banned for life from the Olympics.
Bach gave his personal view Thursday, one day before Canadian investigator Richard McLaren publishes a final report into alleged state-backed cheating at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
The IOC leader says proof of systematic doping would be “aggravated circumstances” to justify life bans.
Bach says “I would not like to see this person again at any Olympic Games in any function.”
Earlier Thursday, the IOC member overseeing disciplinary cases that arise from McLaren’s evidence acknowledged they could be difficult to prove.