Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Greek Olympic team officials said two members of the Greek national baseball team tested positive for banned substances, four days before the beginning of the Athens Olympic Games.

Yiannis Papadogiannakis, head of the Hellenic Olympic Committee delegation to the games declined to identify the players or what drugs they may have used. More complete information will be released once the final test results are confirmed, he said.

``The rules are simple. If they are not clean they will be disqualified,'' Papadogiannakis told reporters in Athens. ``It is sad to be talking about doping.''

All 440 members of the Greek Olympic team were tested between June 10 and Aug. 7, he said. A total of 570 Greek athletes were tested, including those considered before the final team was announced.

International rules require a second positive test result to confirm the initial findings before an athlete can be disciplined for using banned substances.

Greece's Olympic baseball team is made up primarily of players from other countries who were granted citizenship because of their Greek ancestry. Twenty-two of the 24 players are from the U.S. and Canada.

To contact the reporter of this story: George Hatzidakis in Athens at ghatzidakis@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 9, 2004 09:31 EDT