Swindon manager Luke Williams has said that it was an “easy decision” to suspend the Swindon players seen inhaling nitrous oxide in a video posted on social media.
Midfielders Drissa Traore, 24, and Jeremy Balmy, 21, have both apologised after being pictured using the legal high, which is more commonly known as laughing gas.
Full-back Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill, 20, was the third player suspended following the incident.
“It’s something that I’ve taken very seriously and that I’ve been deeply stressed about,” Williams said.
“As soon as we’d been able to gather enough evidence to see the severity of it, it was an easy decision for me to immediately suspend the players.”
Williams also said that the club’s investigation into the three players might go on longer than expected, and may not be solved until after Swindon’s match with Bury on Saturday.
“I want us to be on the front pages of the national papers, but for football reasons and not for ill-discipline or anything else, so it’s very distressing to me,” he told BBC Wiltshire.
“I think it’s more important that we address this matter properly rather than panic and bring the players back before we’ve had a thorough investigation. If that takes longer, it takes longer.”
Swindon are currently 16th in League One, and are without a win in their last seven games.
