Chinese football authorities ban youth players for SIX MONTHS after they break coronavirus curfew 'to go drinking'

The Chinese Football Association has slapped six members of the country's under-19 squad with a six-month suspension after they broke a strict Covid-19 curfew to go drinking.

The players reportedly slipped away from a 35-man training camp in Shanghai at midnight to go boozing, only to be rumbled by officials.

The six footballers will now be forced to sit out national team matches until the end of November, and could face further sanction from their club teams. 

“It was a severe violation of the team’s epidemic control regulations, and caused negative impacts on the whole team,” the Chinese FA said, according to the AP.

Head coach Cheng Yaodong condemned the party of boozers but said they now "realized the seriousness of the situation."   

“It is a loss to the team, and of course, it will have greater effects on the players themselves,” he added. 

The Chinese under-19s are due to play in the country's third tier next season to help them prepare for next year's Olympics in Tokyo.  

China has eased many of its coronavirus lockdown measures in recent months after the epicenter of the pandemic shifted to Europe and then the US. 

Nonetheless, measures such as flight restrictions and curfews remain in place.

The players punished for the breach had been on a training camp which ran from May 17 until Saturday, June 6. 

The Chinese Super League was due to start in February, but was postponed as the pandemic continued to rage.

Officials are now planning a return in late June or July.