A key anti-doping committee recommended that Russia face a ban from global sports including the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and World Championships.
ADVERTISEMENTA world anti-doping committee has recommended that Russia face a four-year global sports ban.
The ban, if enacted, would mean Russian representatives would not be able to participate in or attend the Olympics or World Championships during that time.
The Russian flag would not be flown at major world sporting events, and Russia would not be allowed to host events or even bid to host future events such as the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The World Anti-Doping Agency's Compliance Review Committee said the recommendation was based on inconsistencies on doping data from Moscow. The committee said Russian data was neither "complete nor fully authentic".
The review committee said data shared by Russian authorities with the anti-doping agency had been deleted or altered. They also said in some cases data from Moscow was back-dated to make it "appear that the Moscow data had been in their current state since 2015".
Allegations emerged in 2015 and 2016 of a state-sponsored doping program in Russia. Following the release of investigations and reports into Russian doping, the International Olympic Committee banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Invited athletes competed under the Olympic flag and uniform and under the name "Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR)".
The anti-doping agency is expected to decide on the proposed ban on December 9.