The London Olympics were "sabotaged" by the participation of Russian athletes who should have been banned for doping, an independent report has found.
The report, by an independent commission set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), directly accuses the Russian government of complicity in widespread doping and attempts to cover it up.
It blamed what it called an inexplicable laissez-faire attitude toward drug cheats from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency.
The report recommended that Russia should be suspended from athletics competitions until it cleans up its act.
Commission chairman Dick Pound said Russia's behaviour amounted to "state-supported doping" and that a suspension could lead to Russian athletes being excluded from next year's Rio Olympics.
The commission recommended lifetime bans for five Russian middle-distance runners and five Russian coaches and administrators.
Russia came fourth in the London 2012 medal table with 82 medals in total - 24 of them gold.
The report presents a challenge to new IAAF president Lord Coe, who has vowed to rebuild trust in the sport amid doping and corruption allegations.
The findings were published as Lord Coe's predecessor Lamine Diack was suspended from his position as an honorary member of the International Olympic Committee.
Mr Diack was placed under criminal investigation in France last week, accused of accepting bribes to cover up doping.
Speaking ahead of the report's release, sports law expert Peter Charlish told Sky News: "There is a very large perception I think among the general population that doping is rife, certainly in things like athletics and cycling.
"Cycling has obviously now tried to clean itself up. Athletics had the major problems, in particular with the East German doping many years ago.
"We had the Ben Johnson scandal. So I think there is a perception amongst the public that doping continues to be rife."
Source: Sky News
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