The pair will have to wait before learning their fate, with the club today stating that no further comment on the matter would be made until ‘later this week’.

Striker Thompson, who stood in as skipper during last Friday’s 4-1 defeat at Adelaide United, and defender Milicevic are believed to have breached club curfew rules in the hours following the defeat with the pair missing breakfast in the team hotel on Saturday morning.

The club has been swift to stress that the pair did not engage in any activity which tarnished the reputation of the club or had an adverse effect on the public at large.

It is now a matter for the club’s leadership group, a number which includes captain Kevin Muscat, to discuss.

The issue put the seal on a miserable weekend for the Victorian outfit with Merrick’s side surrendering its unbeaten Hyundai A-League record and missing out on the chance to take top spot.

Merrick is already without Daniel Piorkowski and Leigh Broxham and it remains to be seen whether Messrs Thompson and Milecivic are included in the squad for this weekend’s home clash with bottom club Perth Glory.