Carlton director Chris Judd has blasted veteran Dale Thomas for drinking at a charity function, two nights before their latest AFL loss.
The Blues are investigating Thomas, who is having the week from hell.
Last Tuesday, he was fined $7500 at the AFL tribunal after pleading guilty to abusing an umpire.
He attended a charity function on Friday night and then played in Sunday’s loss to St Kilda.
The Blues are two games clear at the bottom of the ladder and the pressure continues to grow on coach Brendon Bolton.
Judd said he had no problems with a player having one or two drinks before a game, but acknowledged it was a bad look given Carlton’s plight.
Thomas allegedly has told the club he had two glasses of wine at the dinner.
“I’m not one to ‘infantise’ players – if players have a single beer or a couple of wines over dinner, I don’t have a huge problem,” Judd told Channel Nine’s Footy Classified.
“Needless to say, drinking, full-stop, in public, two days before a game when you’re 1-9, fails the stupidity test clearly.
“So we’ll wait and see what the result of the investigations are – I actually don’t have the detail, I’m not spinning that.
“Watch this space – the optics are poor.”
Judd added Thomas’ teammates, not the board, would decide if any action is necessary.
He also said a player having a quiet drink a couple of nights before playing was not in itself a problem.
“If someone’s having a glass of wine over dinner, I don’t think it’s a heinous crime and I don’t think there’s any punishment for it,” he said.