Why Russia's ban was a painful necessity

The IAAF’s blanket ban on Russia’s participation in athletics events at Rio 2016 was always going to be polarising. No matter what Seb Coe said to world’s press in Vienna on Friday, his organisation was bound to come under criticism for approaching the issue of doping in the wrong manner.

Since the announcement, cries from St Petersburg to Vladivostok have denounced the decision as politically motivated - an accusation that seems to meet any bad news for Russia in 2016.

In my humble opinion, the decision was not driven by politics, or at least not the kind of western imperialism that many have alleged; the IAAF would have struggled to maintain any semblance of integrity had they chosen to allow Russian participation in light of WADA’s damning report.

Nonetheless, the announcement will have considerable political ramifications in Russia. I such a corrupt country, sport is a useful tool of the government; citizens can be distracted from government failings with athletic achievements that boost national pride.

Had the IAAF not maintained its ban, the Russian authorities would have felt nothing more than a slap on the wrist - Russian athletes would have competed as though nothing had happened and Russian officials would not have missed out on the chance to show that their country is in some way superior to others.

This is where we get to the crux of the issue. We are dealing with a system of state sponsored doping. The Kremlin clearly believes that cheating in international sport is somehow beneficial to their country, and this mentality will continue unless the consequences for having such a system outweigh any potential benefit.

That is what makes the IOC’s pending decision on a potential “compromise” so concerning. If concessions are made for certain individuals such as Yelena Isinbayeva, the impact of the IAAF’s decision will be greatly undermined as athletes close to Putin would have no complaints over the ban, giving the Kremlin little reason to tackle doping.

The IOC may feel itself caught between a rock and hard place. They have to contend with their internationalist ideology and their aim for representation of every country in the flagship Olympic sport. However, more important is ensuring the level playing field for athletes, and if doing so involves draconian measures, then the IOC simply have to bite the bullet.