The Latvian Olympic men’s hockey team is facing a possible disqualification after a second player reportedly failed a drug test.
According to Sportacentrs.com, a second member of Team Latvia is under investigation for doping.
Last week, forward Vitalijs Pavlovs failed a drug screening. Per International Olympic Committee (IOC) statutes, if more than one player from a team fails a drug test, the entire squad can be disciplined and disqualified. One form of discipline could include the IOC withholding funding from the Latvian Olympic Committee and the team could be the subject of “target testing.”
Latvia finished a surprising eighth in the 12-team tournament after upsetting Switzerland 3-1 in the qualification round before losing to Canada 2-1 in a hard-fought quarterfinal battle.
The LOC says it will not comment on the matter until the investigation is finalized.
The matter falls under Article 9 of the IOC Anti-Doping Rules which state:
“In Team Sports, if more than one team member is found to have committed an anti-doping rule violation during the Period of the Sochi Olympic Games, the team may be subject to Disqualification or other disciplinary action, as provided in the applicable rules of the relevant International Federation.”
