The IOF Ethics Panel were instructed to investigate potential breaches by Russia’s Aleksander Bliznevsky and Markus Lang of Austria.

The pair were members of a jury, which ruled on a case at the 2017 European Ski Orienteering Championships middle distance event.

Nine male and one female athlete were disqualified by organisers for having crossed a forbidden area, which was seen by marshals and confirmed by GPS tracking.

A protest was lodged by team leaders from three countries that the result should be cancelled due to fault of the organisers.

The jury ultimately decided to remove the leg of the course, which had been forbidden, and established a results list without this leg for male competitors.

The IOF Council identified the potential ethics breach, with Bliznevsky and Lang having been accredited officials with teams which included athletes who benefited from the decision.

Bliznevsky and Lang faced two potential breaches of the IOF Code of Ethics.

“All those acting on behalf of the IOF must make decisions in the interests of the IOF,” the IOF Code of Ethics states.

“All those whose personal interests might reasonably be perceived as being affected by a decision or policy concerning an IOF matter (including receiving material benefits) shall refrain from the decision-making process.

“All persons subject to this code shall use due care and diligence in fulfilling their roles for, and on behalf of, the IOF or orienteering generally.

“Decisions by the IOF will be made in accordance with established procedures, objectively, fairly and with honesty and integrity.

“In using resources, personnel will strive for economy, efficiency and environmental friendliness.

“Conflicts of interest are to be avoided.”

The IOF Panel acknowledged Bliznevsky and Lang’s claims that they had not seen a potential breach of the code when participating in the hearing, while a shortage of available jurors was also noted.

“The hearing panel holds unanimously that Aleksander Bliznevsky and Markus Lang violated Articles 3.1 and 4.4 of the Code by not declaring the conflict of interests and not refraining from the decision making process of the jury," the IOF Panel said in their verdict.

“The hearing panel holds that Aleksander Bliznevsky and Markus Lang be issued with a caution based upon their failure to act in accordance with the Code.”

The panel have suggested that the IOF consider the process of appointing jury members for all disciplines following the case, with the hope that each discipline being driven by the same process could result in jurors being trained in best practice.