International sports officials have occasionally run afoul of their own rules and even the law over the years, from the Olympic officials caught accepting bribes to award the 2002 Winter Games to Salt Lake City, to the soccer officials who were more recently accused of accepting bribes related to TV contracts and World Cup bids.

But perhaps a new low for sports officials has been reached in track and field: Officials are accused of blackmailing some athletes who failed drug tests and choosing not to discipline runners who were suspected of doping.

The accusations were laid out in an 89-page report released on Thursday by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Unlike most sports scandals in the past that involved top officials, this one touches the field of play. The leaders of track and field’s global governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations, allowed athletes who had used banned substances to continue competing in major events, according to the report.

“It’s not just a bunch of people sitting at a table passing money to each other,” said Richard W. Pound, a lead author of the report. “This actually affects the outcome of competition.”