Australian athletes released by police after agreeing to fine following Olympic Games accreditation “mistake”

Several Australian Olympic Games athletes were released by Brazilian police on Saturday after agreeing to pay a fine for entering the basketball arena to watch a semi-final game between Australia and Serbia without proper accreditation, a team official said.

Fiona de Jong, chief executive of the Australian Olympic Committee said outside the police station where the athletes were taken for questioning late on Friday that they had entered the arena without the correct accreditation by “mistake”.

“We have agreed on an outcome which is the payment of a fine and good behaviour bond for each of the athletes involved,” Jong said.

Officials for the International Olympic Committee and the Rio de Janeiro 2016 organising committee were not available for comment.

It was the latest in a series of incidents involving Australian athletes at the Games.

A member of the team was robbed earlier this week in the centre of Rio, while, before the start of the Games, the team had refused to enter their accommodation in the Olympic Village until bad plumbing and faulty wiring were fixed.