Athletics news - Ex-UK Athletics chairman Warner says he advised Mo Farah to leave Salazar in 2015

American Salazar was banned from the sport in October after being found guilty of doping violations following a four-year investigation by the US anti-doping Agency and a two-year court battle.

In the wake of the ban, Salazar's Nike Oregon Project - home to four-time Olympic champion Farah between 2011 and 2017 - was shut down.

Warner, who left UK Athletics two and a half years ago after an 11-year tenure, says he visited Farah the night after he had won 5,000 and 10,000m goal at the 2015 Beijing World Championships to ask if he wanted to continue the "risk" of staying with the coach.

"I would have loved Mo to walk away. He was adamant he wasn't going to change his coach," Warner told BBC Sport., "all of our decisions had to be built around protecting our athlete - yes, a great medal prospect but ultimately a human being - and that presumption of innocence for Salazar as well. So it was a moral tight rope that we walked"

Farah eventually did split from Salazar in 2017 and is not accused of any wrongdoing related to the 61-year-old's offences.

"We came out with maybe the least worst outcome. But the best outcome actually would have been Mo saying: 'Do you know what? I won't take the risk.'

"I personally tried to persuade him to change coach. I met him the day after the Beijing World Championships ended. I talked him through the board's thinking at the time around the whole Oregon Project and his position within it, and I had one last go at saying to him: 'Are you sure you want to take that risk?'"

The investigation into Salazar began in 2015 after a BBC Panorama documentary shed light on his offences.

Farah retired from track running in 2017 to concentrate on Marathons, but announced last year that he would be returning to defend his 10,000m Olympic title at the 2020 Tokyo Games.