Games officials confirm syringes found in athletes village

Commonwealth Games banners on the side of a road in Gold Coast, Australia, on April 2, 2018. (Manish Swarup / AP)

GOLD COAST, Australia -- Commonwealth Games organizers have summoned the team leaders from a competing country to an official meeting over a breach of the event's anti-doping guidelines.

Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive David Grevemberg confirmed Monday that syringes were found at the athletes village over the weekend. The event has a no-needles policy.

Grevemberg did not identify which team was involved.

"This is very much an ongoing investigation but there has been a clear breach to the no-needle policy," Grevemberg said. "These needles have been brought in and there was no approval for them to be there."

Gold Coast 2018 chairman Peter Beattie said the situation was "very unhelpful" just two days ahead of the opening ceremony.

"However, I think the most important thing from the games point of view is to make certain that the appropriate processes are followed and if there's a penalty that needs to be applied, that it's applied," Beattie said.

Canadian chef de mission Claire Carver-Dias said she had heard about the syringe discovery but knew nothing of it.