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AOC want ‘please explain’ from hockey star

Anna Flanagan’s Olympic involvement is in serious doubt after the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) revealed to The New Daily that she broke a signed agreement by not declaring her drink driving charge.

Flanagan was charged with drink driving in March and lost her licence for 10 months, but did not declare it to Hockey Australia. She was also fined $1000.

The news only broke on Friday, with Hockey Australia quickly axing her from the Hockeyroos’ last two lead-up events before the Olympic Games.

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Hockey Australia also said that Flanagan remained eligible for the Australian Olympic team.

But that might be about to change with the AOC revealing on Wednesday that they had demanded a ‘please explain’ from the 24-year-old.

And they also said that Flanagan had broken a statutory declaration that she had signed.

An AOC spokesperson told The New Daily: “We have sent a letter to Anna Flanagan.

“(We are) asking why she failed to declare her drink driving charge to the AOC.

“Every athlete and official must sign the team agreement. As part of that agreement, you must sign a statutory declaration saying that you have not been involved in doping and also list any criminal convictions or pending charges.

“We understand Anna Flanagan was arrested for drink driving in March.

“She signed her team agreement in May but she did not list the drink driving offence on her form.

“We have asked her for an explanation. We are awaiting her reply.”

When asked whether Flanagan’s conduct would be enough to see her axed from the Olympics, the AOC said: “We treat all athletes equally when it comes to our position on behaviour.

“When a criminal matter is involved, we are limited in what we can say.”

AOC chef de mission Kitty Chiller has repeatedly warned tennis bad boys Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic about their conduct in recent months.

Tomic withdrew from the Olympics last month.

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