IOC acts against 28 Russian athletes

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has launched disciplinary procedures against 28 Russian athletes from the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.

The move on Friday follows the findings at the beginning of the month from the second McLaren report on doping.

The World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) chief investigator investigated 95 samples of Russian athletes from Sochi and placed them at the disposal of the IOC.

According to Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren, evidence of a manipulation of samples was shown in the cases of 28 athletes.

Twelve Russian medallists from the Sochi Games were involved in the conspiracy, he said.

McLaren said more than 1000 athletes were implicated in what the report described as a Russian program of state-sponsored doping.

In Moscow, Russian president Vladimir Putin has acknowledged his country has a problem with athletes using performance-enhancing drugs, but has "never had any state system supporting doping".

Many countries have problems with doping that should be resolved, Putin told his annual media conference.

Russia in particular is working closely with the IOC and WADA in an effort to combat its problem with doping, Putin said.