Russian scandal is no surprise to Paul Sanderson

Russia faces being banned from the Rio 2016 Olympics after an investigation revealed "state-sponsored" doping on a huge scale.

An independent commission (IC) set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has revealed 1,417 samples were deliberately destroyed on the orders of the director of Russia's drug-testing laboratory – who took cash to cover up positive tests – while there was intimidation of officials by undercover officers from the Russian secret service FSB.

The commission's chairman, Dick Pound, said Russia should be banned from next year's Olympics, and that London 2012 had been "sabotaged" by the presence of Russian athletes with suspicious doping profiles.

Though the revelations have rocked the sport, those working at its grassroots level claim yesterday's announcement was far from unexpected.

Paul Sanderson, secretary of Telford Athletics Club, said: "There are a number of British athletes who have claimed for years it is not a level playing field.

"They are there, watching these athletes warm-up. Yesterday was just confirmation of what many people have been thinking for years."

While Sanderson is confident the scandal will not adversely affect participation at a grassroots level, he did express concern at any impact it might have on any future government funding.

The report blames the "widespread inaction" of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) plus the Russian athletics federation (ARAF) and the Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA) for allowing drug cheats to compete.

"The IC (independent commission) has noted a cumulative lapse of action from the IAAF, ARAF and RUSADA in conjunction with pursuing suspicious profiles," the report stated.

"As a result of this widespread inaction, the Olympic Games in London were, in a sense, sabotaged by the admission of athletes who should have not been competing."