Failed tests may put Spain out of Beijing field hockey

The Spanish women's field hockey team could be banned from the Beijing Olympics after two of its players failed doping tests, the national federation said Wednesday.

Spain qualified for the Olympics with a 3-2 victory over Azerbaijan on April 20, but two of its players tested positive for banned substances after the match.

But the Spanish federation claims the positive tests were the result of foul play at the pre-Olympic tournament in Azerbaijan and says it will fight the result.

"My players haven't taken anything," technical secretary Jose Antonio Gil told the Associated Press. "Our players are totally innocent. "We are looking into whether the players were intoxicated or if there was a manipulation of the samples."

Under the sport's rules, if more than one member of a team tests positive, the entire team is disqualified from the tournament. In that case, Azerbaijan would replace Spain in Beijing if the positive tests are upheld.

"We will fight this to the end," Gil said. "What happened in Azerbaijan is a very rare thing, for all of us. There has never been such a positive test in hockey and I'm sure the International Hockey Federation is as concerned about this as us."

The federation learned of the positive tests 10 days ago, but wouldn't release the names of the two players or say which banned substances were involved.

Players and coaching staff complained to the Spanish federation when they returned from Azerbaijan. The players said they fell ill three days prior to the final and believe they were contaminated through the air conditioning system.

Gil said the federation was examining that theory, as well as whether the players' food or drink had been tampered with.

"Right now what we need is information to know what happened, whether they were spiked or if the tests were false," he said.