The most powerful man in the world of anti-doping wants to see Mo Farah's coach subjected to a criminal investigation.

UK Athletics are leaning towards severing all ties with Alberto Salazar, the man accused by BBC's Panorama of supplying and trafficking illegal performance-enhancing drugs for his athletes.

Craig Reedie, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, told Sportsmail he believes it would be 'entirely appropriate' for Salazar to be targeted by the federal authorities in the US over the BBC claims which have engulfed the camp of double Olympic long-distance champion Farah.

Athletics coach Alberto Salazar (centre) has been accused of supplying his athletes with illegal drugs

Salazar should be subject to criminal investigation by the FBI, says anti-doping chief Craig Reedie

Reedie, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, says it's 'entirely appropriate' for Salazar to be targeted

Witnesses told the BBC that American Salazar had provided Farah's training partner, Galen Rupp, with testosterone from the age of 16.

Further allegations claimed Salazar once even used a hollowed-out book to surreptitiously supply Rupp with drugs. On Thursday night, UK Athletics chiefs were considering dropping Salazar as a consultant for their leading distance runners, with a decision possibly as early as Friday.

Farah, who is not under investigation himself, was due to be put in front of the 1,500 metres in Sunday's Birmingham Diamond League event. That media appearance has been cancelled and Farah and his sponsors Nike — who run the Oregon base where Salazar runs his programme — were nowhere to be seen and unavailable for comment.

Reedie believes the allegations could yet involve the US law enforcement authorities.

'I don't know a great deal about US law,' said Reedie. 'But the authorities there certainly started to investigate the Lance Armstrong case, until it was stopped and US anti-doping took over, and it may be a federal investigation is possible here.

'The WADA view is that a criminal investigation is entirely appropriate with the trafficking and distribution of illegal performance enhancing drugs. What we don't want to do is criminalise athletes.'

The FBI have had success in the past investigating sporting scandals, bringing down the famous BALCO drug laboratory in 2002 and last week starting investigations into bribes at football's world governing body FIFA.

Witnesses told the BBC that Salazar had provided Galen Rupp (left) with testosterone from the age of 16

Mo Farah (right) defeated his American counterpart to win gold during the 2012 Olympics in London

There were three other key developments on Thursday as potentially the biggest drugs scandal in world athletics since the Ben Johnson affair escalated.

* Farah faced calls from leading British distance runners to ditch Salazar as his coach.

* Reedie said WADA would assist the US Anti-Doping Agency with their investigation, making sure they received all the evidence available to examine the claims about Salazar and the Nike Oregon Project where he trains his athletes, Farah among them.

* Reedie also said the revelations by Panorama increased the possibility of night-time testing to combat the threat of micro-dosing.

While there is no suggestion Farah is guilty of any doping offence — he issued a statement on Wednesday insisting he had 'not taken any banned substance' — Reedie agreed that the allegations needed to be taken extremely seriously.

In Panorama's programme, journalist Mark Daly also administered synthetic hormone EPO to himself — a process called micro-dosing — in order to prove that the current drug test could be beaten. He was successful.

'David Howman (WADA director general) said he was concerned — and he's right,' said Reedie. 'We should be concerned by the allegations in two areas of the programme.

'Obviously by the witness statements regarding Salazar but also by the experience the journalist had in administering EPO to himself and beating the test.

'The Blood Passport (the system used to monitor all athletes) is a complicated issue but we are aware of the challenge of micro-dosing.

'Testing athletes in the middle of the night might be an option we need to explore, as mentioned recently in cycling's independent report.'

Olympic champion Farah, who is not under investigation himself, has been urged to sever ties with Salazar

British athletes Jo Pavey (left) and Andy Vernon have urged Farah to distance himself from his coach

While WADA will assist, Reedie said he expects USADA to lead any investigation.

'They have a very good investigations record (Armstrong) but will not comment at the moment, quite rightly, on any investigation,' he said. 'For us, the next step will probably be to make sure USADA have all the evidence available from the BBC programme.'

Farah has come under pressure from Great Britain team-mates to distance himself from Salazar, who guided the Briton and Rupp to a stunning one-two in the Olympic 10,000m final at London 2012.

Salazar and Rupp both deny any breach of doping regulations but European 10,000m champion Jo Pavey said: 'As an athlete you don't want to associate yourself with people that have got accusations and allegations against them.

'I'm not here to accuse anyone, but if there was anybody I was slightly associated with that I suddenly realised had these accusations against them — or any of my training partners — I'd run a mile.'

Rupp and Farah train together at the Nike campus, which has been implicated in the doping scandal

Coach Salazar issues instructions to his athletes at the Nike campus in Beaverton, Oregon

Andy Vernon secured European silver and bronze behind Farah in the 10,000m and 5,000m respectively last summer only to then become embroiled in an amazing Twitter row with his fellow-Briton earlier this year over the strength of the field Farah was competing in. Vernon echoed Pavey's sentiments.

Asked if Farah should remain with Salazar, Vernon replied: 'It's not good for his reputation, that's for sure. If he is completely innocent, I feel sorry for Mo. But it's his training partner — and all the headlines, because of that, are about Mo.

'The suggestion that Rupp was on testosterone dating back to 2002 —that bit I didn't know. That was a little bit shocking.

'If the story is that Salazar was giving him that when he was 16, you have to question whether he should be allowed to coach athletes in the future.

'But if you look at the money Nike pump into US track and field, and into the Oregon Project, I do wonder what will happen. It wouldn't be the first time Nike have been linked to a doping scandal.'

THE KEY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SALAZAR DOPING SCANDAL Q: What did Alberto Salazar and Galen Rupp supposedly do wrong? A: The BBC alleged both men have repeatedly broken the rules by engaging in doping practices for over a decade. The specific allegations are listed below. Testosterone — Steve Magness, a former coach at Nike’s Oregon Project, claimed he had seen a document on Salazar’s desk which indicated Rupp had been taking banned anabolic steroid testosterone since he was 16. Magness claimed Salazar’s son Alex did mock laboratory tests to see how much testosterone he would have to rub on his body before it showed up as a positive in a drugs test. Prednisone — It is alleged Rupp regularly takes the asthma drug prednisone, which is banned in competition. Magness said that even when Rupp was unable to procure a TUE, an application which allows athletes to use a banned substance or method to treat a legitimate medical condition, he took it anyway. Intravenous drips — Kara and Adam Goucher, former Nike Oregon Project runners, alleged Salazar had coached Rupp to try and get an intravenous drip ahead of races, specifically before the world championships in 2011. One suggestion is that this could help mask banned substances and fool drugs testers. BBC's Panorama allege that the 56-year-old oversaw doping in the Nike funded Oregon project Q: How come they got away with it? A: Rupp is one of America’s most tested athletes but cheats are usually caught not by drugs tests but by intelligence handed to the national anti-doping agencies. It took a long time for people to feel confident enough to speak out. Q: What is the Nike Oregon Project? A: It was created by the sportswear brand in 2001 and former marathon world record holder and renowned coach Salazar came on board immediately. Based in Portland, Oregon the NOP is one of the world’s most prestigious and scientifically advanced running camps in the world. Q: Does Salazar have other links to doping? A: Yes. In 1996, he was coaching American Mary Decker when she tested positive for high levels of testosterone. Decker and Salazar both denied wrongdoing at the time. Q: Has Salazar ever suggested he might dope his athletes? A: In 1999, he gave a speech to the Duke University Law Review and said: ‘I believe that it is currently difficult to be among the top five in the world in any of the distance events without using EPO (erythropoietin) or human growth hormone.’ Advertisement

British Athletics trumpeted Salazar joining the organisation's endurance programme in December 2013, stating the former marathon runner would 'advise in a consultancy capacity', but Vernon believes the connection is now damaging to the governing body.

'It's best not to be associated with that negativity,' he said. 'These kind of allegations are as negative as it gets in sport.

GATLIN RUNS 100M IN 9.75SECS 9.75seconds is the 100 metres time clocked by Nike-backed athlete and serial doping cheat Justin Gatlin at the European Diamond League meeting in Rome on Thursday - the fastest time this year. Advertisement

'We had heard stuff about him (Rupp) going to see that Dr Jeffrey Brown in Houston. He was this doctor — unlike any doctor — who seemed to be able to identify thyroid problems in athletes. If no other doctor can find it but this guy finds it in four healthy male athletes, I find that worrying.

'Are people paying doctors to prescribe them these drugs, and getting a TUE (exemption form) that keeps them on the right side of the rules? I think there are some people the authorities don't want to catch. I heard Rupp is the most tested athlete in America, so they are obviously trying to catch him, but an investigation needs to happen.'

Serial doper Justin Gatlan celebrates running the 100m in 9.75seconds at Rome meeting on Thursday

Publicly UK Athletics have remained tight-lipped, only briefing that former marathon champion Salazar was paid by Nike and not by the national governing body in his consultancy role. That nevertheless remains an uncomfortable position given Nike are the official kit suppliers for UK Athletics, having signed a seven-year, multi-million pound deal in September 2013.

The BBC have claimed that at least seven athletes or staff associated with the Nike Oregon Project have spoken to USADA about their concerns, with USADA so far refusing to confirm or deny that an investigation is underway.

WADA boss Howman said: 'If the allegations are as serious as they have been reported then they need to be investigated beyond a national level.'

While prominent race agent Jos Hermens said: 'I'm not out for blood but I am glad to see the programme was done. A lot of what the Nike Project does is in a grey area. The documentary is good and it is a wake-up call for many people, maybe even for Alberto himself about how fanatic are you going to be about your sport? It's only sport, you know, so why would you be so fanatic about doing all these things. I'm all for using science to improve performance but it should be transparent and out in the open.'

Farah and Rupp, members of the Oregon Project, take part in training at the Nike campus in 2013

MO FARAH The Team GB middle-distance runner shot to fame after his double gold medal-winning performance at the 2012 Olympics. His 'Mobot' celebration became one of the iconic images of the London Games and he is now one of the most recognisable competitors in athletics. The 32-year-old finished third in the 2013 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards and is close friends with Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. Born in Somalia, Farah moved to London aged eight and now resides in Oregon. His first major medal was the 5,000m silver at the 2006 European Athletics Championships. He has since been crowned 5,000 and 10,000m champion at European, World and Olympic level. Farah broke the two-mile indoor world record in February this year. Advertisement

ALBERTO SALAZAR Three consecutive victories in the New York City marathon saw Salazar become one of the most respected figures in US athletics. Born in Cuba, the now 56-year-old migrated to America with his family as a child and was given his first taste of track and field at his secondary school in Massachusetts. He won the first of back-to-back titles in the New York City marathon in 1980 and required six litres of water through intravenous drip when he ran himself unconscious in 1982. He was gold-medal favourite for the 1984 Olympic marathon, but finished 15th. Salazar became a coach who used the latest scientific techniques. As well as training his long-distance runners, he was a marathon pacesetter for cyclist Lance Armstrong. Advertisement

Attempts to contact Nike officials proved unsuccessful on Thursday, as did attempts to speak to Farah's representatives.

A statement from Nike said: 'We take the allegations very seriously as Nike does not condone the use of performance enhancing drugs in any manner. Both Alberto and Galen have made their perspectives clear and fully refute the allegations made against them.'