IOC President Thomas Bach defended the decision not to ban Russia’s entire team from the Rio Games, declaring Sunday that the doping crisis won’t damage the Olympic body’s credibility and taking a swipe at global anti-doping officials for failing to act sooner against state-sponsored cheating in Russia.

    Speaking at a news conference five days before the opening of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Bach said a total ban on Russia for systematic doping “would not be justifiable” on either moral or legal grounds.

    “Every human being is entitled to certain rights of natural justice,” said Bach, who also denied suggestions he had bowed to pressure from the Russian Government to reject calls by anti-doping authorities for a complete ban.

    Bach was peppered with questions about the International Olympic Committee’s handling of the Russian scandal, including the decision to give international sports federations the authority to decide which Russian athletes should be cleared to compete in Rio.

    Asked whether the ruling represented a failure by the IOC, Bach said: “No. This is for very obvious reasons.”

    Bach said the IOC had set a “very high bar” by imposing strict conditions on the entry of Russians, including a ban on any athletes with prior doping sanctions.

    More than 100 Russian athletes — including the track and field team — have been excluded, with more than 250 declared eligible by the federations.

    With the Games opening Friday, it remains uncertain exactly how many Russians will be competing. Some have filed appeals against their bans.

    (SD-Agencies)