Russia were banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics on Tuesday over state-sponsored doping but the International Olympic Committee said Russian competitors would still be able to compete "under strict conditions," reports AFP. The IOC announced the decision after examining evidence of state-sponsored doping over several years that reached its zenith at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The IOC also banned Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko for life over his involvement in the scandal -- he was the Russian Sports Minister during the Sochi Games.

That will raise questions as to whether Mutko can continue in his role as head of the organising committee for the 2018 football World Cup, which Russia will host.

Mutko, who was also banned from the Rio 2016 Summer Games, had been implicated in the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency)-commissioned McLaren report.

Nations have in the past been barred from taking part in the Olympics -- notably South Africa during the apartheid years -- but none has ever been handed a blanket suspension over doping. Russian athletes, however, would be able to take part in the Games, the IOC said, as independent competitors "under the Olympic flag".