Two Wellington Phoenix player could face sanctions from the club after they broke coronavirus self-isolation rules in Sydney and allegedly took a golf cart for a joyride along a busy road leading to one of them being arrested.
The club have confirmed two of their players, Tim Payne and OliverSail, were involved in an incident in Sydney in which they used and damaged facility property.
"Despite reports to the contrary, initial investigations have found that Tim Payne was not arrested during the incident and no member of the public was involved," the club said.
"The Wellington Phoenix is taking the matter very seriously and is continuing its investigations. The club will release a further statement once its investigation is complete."
The Daily Telegraph reports Payne was allegedly spotted driving a golf cart while shirtless at 1am on Tuesday before he was stopped by police.
Concerned members of the public reported to police who allegedly intervened. According to the report, Payne was arrested by NSW Police who alleged he was drunk.
According to the Daily Telegraph, police allege Payne blew 'a mid-range PCA' when breath tested - which according to the Transport for NSW website is a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 to less than 0.15 and carries a minimum disqualification of six months and maximum court- imposed fine of $2,200, if it's your first offence.
Goalkeeper Sail was reportedly in the passenger seat but wasn't arrested or charged.
The golf cart was found five kilometres from where the team were staying, according to reports.
The club left Sydney for New Zealand later that day after the A-League was postponed on Monday.
Oliver Sail makes a save during a Wellington Phoenix A-League training. Photo / Getty
The Phoenix squad and staff had been a 14-day period of in self-isolation in Sydney after arriving last Wednesday to play out the rest of the A-League season in Australia.
They were set to recommence their league campaign on Saturday April 4 but the season was postponed for the foreseeable future.
Phoenix general manager David Dome said that prior to the FFA's decision, the club had tried everything in its power to play out as much of the A-League season as it could, but the spread of Covid-19 had made it untenable to remain in Australia.
"We didn't want to subject the players and staff to the risk of being stranded in Australia for an indefinite period of time," he said.
"The players, staff and management were 100 per cent committed to doing the best it could this season and playing out as much of the Hyundai A-League season as was possible - their positive attitude and dedication is a tribute to them, as was as the support of the families, fans and the club's corporate partners.
"This was an incredible season for the Wellington Phoenix and even though it has been postponed, it was still our highest finish to date; while we're disappointed at the postponement, the right thing to do now is to get everyone home to their loved ones during this unprecedented time of crisis."
.@FFA has announced a postponement of the final rounds of the @ALeague 2019/20 Season, effective immediately.
In the meantime, the Phoenix will remain ready to continue the season if and when required, with each player being given a personal training plan to maintain their fitness during this time.
