Six players of China's U19 men's national team have been suspended for six months after violating the team's epidemic control regulations, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced on Saturday.

The U19 team had called up a 35-player training camp in Shanghai behind closed doors from May 17 to June 6. The six members of the team left the team's training base without approval and went out drinking at midnight on May 30.

"It was a severe violation of the team's epidemic control regulations and caused negative impacts on the whole team," noted the Chinese football's governing body, saying the six will be banned from all CFA-sanctioned matches from June 1 to November 30 this year.

The CFA also said those players will not be allowed to join China's national teams at all levels and they will face further disciplinary punishment from their respective clubs.

"It is a loss to the team, and of course, it will have greater effects on players themselves," said the team's head coach Cheng Yaodong. "The U-19 national team and their clubs all have responsibilities for their education. We should learn from the lesson."

According to CFA President Chen Xuyuan, the U19 national team will participate in the country's third-tier professional league in the new season, to provide high-quality competition chances for young talent and in the build-up for 2024 Paris Olympic Games.