They wanted to drown their frustration in alcohol and are now under arrest: Five Australian hockey players were warned on Friday and will remain in isolation until they return from Tokyo because they snuck out of the athletes' village to drink beer after their defeat in the Olympic final against Belgium to buy.
“The behavior of the players was a clear violation of the COVID-19 protocols that apply to the Tokyo Olympics. I am deeply disappointed, ”said Australia's Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman. He said two groups of players left the village early on Friday morning to go to a supermarket to buy beer - only one group succeeded.
The men's Australian football and rugby teams had already attracted negative attention at the beginning of the week due to alcoholism on the return flight to Sydney. At least one player vomited in the toilet, making it unusable for the remainder of the ten-hour flight. There were reports that some Olympic athletes had ransacked the aircraft's alcohol supply after being denied additional drinks. The rugby players and rowing team also damaged Tokyo Olympic accommodations as they celebrated after their competitions were over.
The umbrella organization Rugby Australia and the AOC are dealing with the incidents on board.
"This is extremely disappointing, but both rugby and football have told me that such behavior is certainly not acceptable in their sport and have credibly apologized to the Australian Olympic team," said AOC Secretary General Matt Carroll.
"Some young people made a mistake," Chesterman admitted.
Because the athletes apologized, there will be no disciplinary action.
The Australians lost the thrilling hockey final at the Olympic Games in Tokyo against Belgium 2-3 in a shoot-out.
After regular playing time it was 1: 1.
The hero of the shoot-out was Belgium goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch, who parried three Australian balls in the decision.