The incident follows earlier complaints about Australian athletes leaving rooms ‘covered in sick’.
A 3am beer run from the Olympic village cost several members of the Australian hockey team their freedom on Friday.
Officials confirmed that five members of the squad were reprimanded – and isolated in their rooms – after breaching Covid rules in Tokyo by leaving the athletes’ village to buy alcohol.
The team was commiserating their gold-medal playoff loss to Belgium.
Team Australia boss Ian Chesterman, was quoted by Sky News, as saying three of the players left the village to buy two cases of beer at 3am on Friday, hours after the loss.
At 6am, according to reports, a second group walked to the shop but didn’t buy anything.
The athletes, the broadcaster reported, all tested negative for Covid and turned themselves into officials.
Chesterman said: “They are feeling deep remorse. They have let their own teammates down.”
After their rugby team, it is 🇦🇺 Australia's silver medal-winning hockey team who are in hot water at the 2020 🇯🇵 Tokyo @Olympics as they broke 🦠 #COVID19 protocols by leaving the athletes' village to buy alcohol! 🤦♂️#Tokyo2020 #Olympics
READ MORE ➡️ https://t.co/GQPGwKxyRH pic.twitter.com/ZulhU2W52t
— ESPN Asia (@ESPNAsia) August 6, 2021
“We have reprimanded them,” Chesterman said. “We have isolated them in their rooms … they are feeling deep remorse, they have let their own teammates down. The players themselves have not done any harm outside the village, they haven’t done any harm inside the village. My concern is they have breached the protocols.
“In the Australian culture – indeed, in many places right around the world – people celebrate and commiserate over a drink, so that is understandable behaviour for them. What wasn’t acceptable to us was the breach of the [Tokyo Olympic] playbook.”
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The side’s coach, Colin Batch, said: “They have embarrassed the Kookaburras, the Australian Olympic team and it’s completely out of character.”
The five players have not been named by officials.
The incident comes days after another incident involving Australian athletes at the Olympic village.
Members of the rowing and rugby squads left damaged hotel rooms covered in sick after drunken celebrations, whilst members of the nation’s football side were reprimanded after a drunken flight home.
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