The media pressure ahead of any Olympic Games is tough for the host nation. Stories of unfinished stadium and accommodation always abound wherever the Games are held. But this time Rio has had to contend with the Zika virus and the IOC themselves.

The non-decision of the IOC to act over Russian doping has left the Olympics in a state of shock.

The Olympic Games gets under way in 11 days time. In those 11 days 28 International Sporting Federations will have to decide themselves on whether to allow Russian athletes to compete in the Games.

This massive and possibly impossible burden has been placed on them by the International Olympic Committee which decided yesterday to step away from a blanket ban on athletes from the country accused in a recent report by the World Anti Doping Agency as having run a state sponsored doping system over a number of years.

Instead it published a set of criteria which individual sports may use to decide on whether a Russian entrant to the games might be allowed to compete.

They are different criteria to those which apply to athletes in general terms and so provide for what will be a likely legal and ethical area of uncertainty, one that will cast a long shadow over the Games themselves.

However, it seems up to 90% of Russian athletes will still be banned as the International Federations create a backlash over the IOC decision not to impose a blanket ban according to the Telegraph.

The general reaction from across the sporting spectrum has been one of anger and disappointment that the IOC has failed to act with a strong voice, and that rhetoric on a strong campaign to root out doping now rings hollow

Whilst this was never going to be an easy decision and regardless of which way it went there were likely to be long term repercussions for the integrity of sport. But the IOC fudged the decision and have called into question their own Olympics. This is a sad day for Sport in what has been a good sporting week for Britain on the bike, track, tennis and motor racing circuits.