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IAAF votes to provisionally suspend Russia

The IAAF votes to provisionally suspended Russia's athletics federation.

The IAAF Council has voted to provisionally suspended Russia's athletics federation from international competition following its alleged involvement in doping.

The organisation voted 22-1 in favour of the measure after the World Anti-Doping Agency published a report accusing the Russian government of being complicit in widespread doping and cover-ups.

IAAF president Lord Coe told BBC Sport: "This is a wake-up call for all of us. Tonight our sport finds itself in a shameful situation.

"I am wholly focused on the changes that need to be made. I have openly conceded that we need to learn some very tough lessons.

"We need to look at ourselves, within our sport, and we will do that."

Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko said that the ban, which includes the Olympics, was "very strange" but "solvable".

Speaking to The AP, Mutko added: "Our reaction is calm. We didn't expect anything else."

Russia is also expected to be stripped of hosting the World Race Walking Team Championships and World Junior Championships, to be held in May 2016 and July 2016 respectively.

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Christopher Dodd
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Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko attends the presentation of the new Russia's national ice hockey squad's uniform for the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Moscow on October 30, 2015. The Championship will be held in Moscow and St. Petersburg
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