Olympic chiefs have barred Russian athletes from taking part in the opening ceremony of the Paris Games (John MACDOUGALL)

Russia launched a furious tirade at the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday, arguing the IOC's restrictions on Russian athletes and its criticism of the Moscow-organised Friendship Games amounted to "neo-Nazism".

The IOC on Tuesday both barred Russian athletes from taking part in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 26 and criticised the Kremlin for planning to hold its own "Friendship Games" to rival those held in the French capital.