MOSCOW, July 31, 2008 (AFP) - Russia's national head coach Valentin Maslakov on Thursday claimed political reasons were behind the provisional suspension of seven woman athletes by the IAAF for suspected substitution of doping samples.

'This is a very old story and it seems very strange to me that it ended with a suspension for our athletes,' Maslakov told radio Sport. 'And it's very symptomatic that it was announced just days before the Games.

'I think that such an attitude to our athletes appeared on political reasons as their high results exasperate some of their rivals and athletics federation officials.'

World indoor 1500m champion Yelena Soboleva and her personal coach Matvei Telyatnikov both denied any wrongdoing, and echoed Maslakov saying the IAAF decision was politically motivated.

'A lot of questions rose after the IAAF decision was announced,' Telyatnikov told the press.

'How could the samples be substituted if the dope testing procedure was strictly regulated?

'And if everything was all right when the samples were given and it was confirmed by the protocol I think that the WADA officers but not the athletes should be questioned when it was discovered that the samples were different.'

'We did not do anything wrong and would definitely take steps against this decision,' he added.

'We still have no plan how we will defend ourselves. I think we shall study all the conditions of the case before taking any steps. But we will not just accept this decision. It definitely appeared exclusively on political reasons.'

Apart from Soboleva -- who has clocked the fastest times in the world this year over both 800m and 1500m -- also targeted were fellow middle distance runners Svetlana Cherkasova, Yulia Fomenko, former double world champion Tatyana Tomashova and Olga Yegorova.

Hammer thrower Gulfiya Khanafeyeva, a former world record holder, and reigning European discus champion Darya Pishchalnikova, were also named in the affair.

Athletics' world governing body IAAF said on their website: 'The IAAF has provisionally suspended seven athletes from Russia for doping offences, a decision which has been acknowledged by the All Russia Athletics Federation (ARAF).

'The athletes have been charged (...) for a fraudulent substitution of urine which is both a prohibited method and also a form of tampering with the doping control process.'

Under IAAF rules, athletes have up to 14 days to request a hearing from their national federation, in this case the ARAF. If a hearing is requested, it must be held within a period of two months.