Rio 2016: Australian athletes questioned by police over alleged accreditation tampering

Ten Australian athletes have been questioned by police at the Rio Olympics, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has confirmed.

The group are accused of tampering with their accreditation in an attempt to get themselves better seats at the basketball semi-final between Australia and Serbia.

The group was taken into custody during the game Friday night (local time) and an Australian lawyer is currently with them at the police station.

AOC chief executive Fiona de Jong told reporters outside the police station that the athletes did not have the correct accreditation to be at the venue but denied earlier reports they had been arrested.

"The Brazil authorities and our officials are working through issues," she said.

"No-one has been arrested and we will provide you with a more detailed statement when these discussions have advanced."

Officials for the International Olympic Committee and the Rio 2016 organising committee were not available for comment.