The council convened to decide whether to suspend Russian athletes

The IAAF have voted to suspend Russia's athletics team by 22 votes to one

Russia's national athletics federation have been suspended from competition after being accused of running a state-sponsored doping programme.

But new IAAF president Seb Coe said the ‘whole system has failed the athletes around the world’. He branded it a ‘shameful wake-up call’ for the sport.

An explosive independent report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency and published on Monday exposed the Russians, with evidence of a Moscow-testing laboratory that even destroyed samples.

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IAAF President Sebastian Coe addresses the media outside his office in London on Friday evening

New IAAF president Coe said the ‘whole system has failed the athletes around the world’ on Friday

Lord Coe and council convened to decide whether to suspend Russian athletes from competition

IAAF vice-president Sergey Bubka previously claimed it would be unfair to tar all athletes with the same brush

All-Russia Athletic Federation general secretary Mikhail Butov speaks to the Russian press on Friday

Newly elected IAAF president Coe (left) stands with outgoing president Lamine Diack back in August

Former IAAF president Diack is under investigation for his alleged involvement in a doping cover-up

After a conference call meeting on Friday night involving 24 members of the 27-strong IAAF council Coe, at his London office, announced that the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF) had been provisionally suspended with immediate effect. Twenty-two voted in favour of the sanction, with one voting against. The council member from Russia, who pleaded ARAF’s case as part of the meeting, was not eligible to vote.

Coe said: ‘Today we have been dealing with the failure of ARAF and made the decision to provisionally suspend them, the toughest sanction we can apply at this time. But we discussed and agreed that the whole system has failed the athletes, not just in Russia, but around the world.

"This has been a shameful wake-up call and we are clear that cheating at any level will not be tolerated. To this end, the IAAF, WADA, the member federations and athletes need to look closely at ourselves, our cultures and our processes to identify where failures exist and be tough in our determination to fix them and rebuild trust in our sport. There can be no more important focus for our sport.’

A World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) staff member hands out copies of a report on Russia's doping scandal

Dick Pound led the Independent Commission investigating claims of widespread abuse in Russian athletics

According to the 323-page report, the 2012 Olympic Games were 'sabotaged' by Russian athletes' doping

The suspension prevents Russian athletes from participating in international competitions including ‘World Athletic Series competitions and the Olympic Games’. Russia will also ‘not be entitled to host the 2016 World Race Walking Cup and 2016 World Junior Championships.

But what may disappoint observers is the clear offer of a road back before next summer’s Olympic Games in Rio.

As the IAAF statement said: ‘To regain membership to the IAAF the new federation would have to fulfil a list of criteria. An inspection team led by Independent Chair Rune Andersen, an independent international anti-doping expert (Norwegian) and three members of the IAAF Council who will be appointed in the next few days.’

Vitaly Mutko was accused by WADA of being complicit in a state-sponsored drug programme

The London Olympics in 2012 were 'sabotaged' by the approach of Russian athletes suspected of doping

Mariya Savinova (right) and Ekaterina Poistogova, pictured at London 2012, were among known cheats

Why didn't they act when The Mail on Sunday FIRST exposed the scandal? The Mail on Sunday first exposed Russia's systematic programme of doping athletes and covering up failed drugs tests more than TWO YEARS ago — and athletics' governing body, the IAAF, did absolutely nothing. Our major investigation was published in July 2013, before the athletics World Championships in Moscow, and was informed by multiple sources, including some of the same brave whistleblowers who spoke to German broadcasters ARD for their documentary 17 months later. When we presented our findings to the IAAF and asked for comment, they did not even bother to respond. The central allegation of The Mail on Sunday's investigation was that there was a highly co-ordinated doping system being administered by top coaches that provided drugs to leading athletes and helped them falsify dope tests in order to keep competing. A succession of athletes, coaches and other whistleblowers told us their stories, including an active senior winter sports official who said Russian Winter Olympic athletes were using steroids in the run-up to the Sochi Games but would go undetected. Advertisement

Savinova celebrates as she crosses the line to win the women's 800 metres final at London 2012

The duo pose with their Olympic medals alongside Caster Semenya (left), who finished second

Russian athletes Savinova and compatriot Poistogova are among those caught up in the doping storm