Winter Olympics: Slovenia ice hockey player suspended for doping violation

Slovenia ice hockey player Ziga Jeglic is the third anti-doping case of Pyeongchang 2018

Slovenia ice hockey player Ziga Jeglic has accepted an anti-doping rule violation and been suspended from the Winter Olympics.

Jeglic, 29, tested positive for asthma medication fenoterol in an in-competition test, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) said.

He is the second athlete to be banned from Pyeongchang 2018 and this is the third anti-doping case of the Games.

Forward Jeglic now has 24 hours to leave the Olympic Village.

Without Jeglic, Slovenia were knocked out of the Games following a 2-1 overtime defeat by Norway in the playoffs on Tuesday,

Jeglic, who plays in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League, scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 shootout victory over Slovakia in the group stage.

Fenoterol is an anti-asthma drug that opens up the airways to the lungs and is on the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) prohibited list.

It can be taken with a therapeutic use exemption, which allow an athlete, for medical reasons, to take a prescribed substance or have treatment that is otherwise prohibited.

Cas' anti-doping division will provide a final decision on Jeglic's case after the Games.

Japanese speed skater Kei Saito was the first athlete to be suspended from the Games after testing positive for acetazolamide, a banned diuretic which is considered a masking agent.

Cas has also opened an anti-doping case against Russian medal-winning curler Alexander Krushelnitsky, who is suspected of testing positive for meldonium.

Analysis

BBC World Service Sport's Seth Bennett

Jeglic has been a key part of the Slovenia team since 2009 and has scored a goal in every major tournament he has played in.

He was among their star players in Sochi four years ago and now he will leave his team-mates after accepting the ruling that he tested positive for fenoterol.

This news has come just before Slovenia's game against Norway and will be a huge distraction as the rest of the team try to reach the quarter-finals without one of their best players.