Australian hockey player Tom Craig has been hit with a 12-month ban by Hockey Australia after he was arrested in Paris for buying cocaine during the Olympic Games.
Craig owned up to his wrongdoing in a press conference in Paris after spending a night in the lock-up after his arrest, which happened in the days following the Kookaburras’ quarter-final loss at the Games.
Following an investigation, Hockey Australia’s Integrity Unit imposed the ban on Craig as punishment.
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2024 Paris Olympic Games. Australian hockey player Tom Craig has been released from custody in Paris over an alleged cocaine incident. 7 August 2024. Photo: Eddie Jim Eddie Jim
Craig was arrested on August 6 in Paris’ Ninth Arrondissement after Australia’s men’s and women’s players hit the town following a “family and friends” gathering.
The 28-year-old was handed a probationary criminal warning for drug use and lost all of his Olympic privileges including accommodation in the athlete’s village and participation in the closing ceremony.
“At the end of his police custody, the hockey player was presented to a delegate of the prosecutor for notification of a probationary criminal warning for drug use,” a spokesperson for the Paris Prosecutor’s Office told 9news.com.au at the time.
The prosecutor’s office confirmed that the Kookaburra was arrested for buying cocaine after police witnessed a cocaine transaction outside a building in the city’s Ninth Arrondissement.
Australian hockey player Tom Craig spoke after he was released from custody in Paris following his arrest. Eddie Jim
Six months of Craig’s ban will be served in full with the remainder suspended if he meets conduct and behaviour requirements outlined by Hockey Australia.
Under his suspension, the forward — who won silver with the Kookaburras at Tokyo 2020 — is barred from featuring in any hockey game, competition or league, organised by Hockey Australia. This includes the Hockey One League and FIH Pro League seasons.
Hockey Australia has confirmed that Craig would remain eligible for selection in the 2025 national men’s hockey squad which is set to be announced at the end of the year.
Craig has also been instructed to complete mandatory training and education programs.
He has access to the national organisation’s athlete support services through his suspension.
Craig was contracted to German club Hamburger for the upcoming Euro Hockey League season but has since been removed from the team’s roster on the club’s website.
