Oz Olympians fly high, too high

Australian men's rugby sevens players react after their win over Canada in Tokyo on July 28. (Photo: Reuters)
Australian men's rugby sevens players react after their win over Canada in Tokyo on July 28. (Photo: Reuters)

Members of the Australian Olympic men's soccer and rugby sevens teams are facing investigations into unruly behaviour on their flight home from Tokyo.

Japan Airlines has submitted a written complaint to the Australian Olympic Committee alleging hours of rowdy and drunken antics during the teams’ 10-hour return flight from Tokyo to Sydney, according to a report by Sydney-based The Daily Telegraph.

The report quotes other passengers on the flight, which touched down Friday morning, as saying some players refused to follow instructions by airline staff to sit down. Players also allegedly raided alcohol stored in the galley of the plane, despite pleas by the airline staff not to do so.

In addition, one passenger reported that several athletes began vomiting, and that one of the plane's toilets was "wasted".

"Obviously, they weren't wearing their masks as they were drinking all the time," one passenger told the tabloid.

Japan Airlines confirmed that a written complaint has been sent to the Australian Olympic Committee, telling Kyodo News on Wednesday, "As they are travelling as athletes representing their country, we hope they take heed of that fact and behave as such."

The Australian Olympic Committee said in a statement that it was made aware of unacceptable behaviour by Olympic team members on the flight and took immediate action by convening a meeting of the chief executives of the sports.

"It's extremely disappointing, but both rugby and football have told me that such behaviour is certainly not acceptable within their sports and have sincerely apologised to the Australian Olympic Team," said committee CEO Matt Carroll.

The two football codes told the Olympic committee that they are taking full responsibility for their players and have indicated that they will be investigating the reports of unacceptable behaviour on the flight, the statement said.

Vocabulary

  • allege: to say that something is true or that someone has done something wrong, even though this has not been proved - อ้าง, กล่าวหา
  • antics: behaviour which is silly and funny; behaviour which is ridiculous or dangerous - การแสดงกล,การแสดงตลก
  • complaint: when someone says that something is wrong or not satisfactory - การบ่น, ข้อที่ไม่พอใจ
  • convene: to call a meeting - เรียกประชุม
  • drunken: showing the effects of too much alcohol; involving people who are drunk - ซึ่งมึนเมา, ซึ่งดื่มเหล้ามากเกินไป
  • plea: an urgent and emotional request - คำร้อง, คำขอ, คำขอร้อง, คำวิงวอน
  • responsibility: deserving to be blamed for something that has happened - ความรับผิดชอบ
  • rowdy: making a lot of noise or likely to cause trouble - เอะอะตึงตัง, เกเร
  • tabloid: a type of popular newspaper with small pages which has many pictures and short simple reports - หนังสือพิมพ์ขนาดเล็กที่รวมเรื่องสั้นต่างๆ ไว้
  • touched down: landed; when an aircraft or a bird to come down to the ground - บินลง, นำลงจอด
  • unruly: difficult to control - ยากที่จะควบคุมได้
  • vomit: to empty the contents of the stomach through the mouth - อาเจียน
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