This weekend, a grenade was thrown into the sphere of athletics with a Sunday Times and German TV report detailing allegations of widespread doping and suspicious test results within the sport.

The International Association of Athletics Federations have since come out and described the claims as "sensationalist and confusing".

But Hajo Seppelt, the journalist and filmmaker who made the documentary for German ARD, has told Off The Ball that the IAAF's response tallies with what could be expected. 

"IAAF is a body that is obviously not trying to help and to support and to admit that they have a really serious problem. They just defend themselves. That's always the same. I'm working on doping stories for almost 20 years, I know all the reactions. It's always the same," said Seppelt.  

"What I can say is that the culture of missing transparency and culture of promoting sport and always defending strategy and always defending the way they are working and not really fighting hard enough against corruption and doping in sport, this in my opinion is typical from the IAAF. And the way they are dealing with us and threatening us, the whole strategy they are currently focusing on is for me not credible."

Seppelt also says that testing cannot always be foolproof, giving the example of blood transfusions:

"Blood transfusions with your own blood are still not detectable. So it's still quite easily to manipulate with that method."

Listen to the full interview via the podcast: