Footballer died after bender

Two South Australian bar workers have been found guilty of serving alcohol to an obviously drunk country footballer who was later found dead.

Jason Short was celebrating a best-on-ground performance for his club, the Kingston Saints B-grade football team, in SA's south east, on April 30, 2011.

"For his efforts the deceased won the `tap and fill award' which entitled him to tap a player/supporter on the shoulder and that person had to shout him a beer," said Magistrate Paul Foley in the Mount Gambier magistrates court.

Mr Short consumed a "significant number of alcoholic drinks" during the afternoon at different locations and, from about 6pm, at the Kingston Crown Inn Hotel.

The hotel's CCTV footage showed Mr Short's balance and co-ordination were "noticeably impaired" when each worker served him another beer, the magistrate said.

In the four-and-a-half hours when Mr Short is seen on the footage, he sways, staggers, takes off his shirt, dances in a "disinhibited manner", is barely able to stand and sits on a bench "essentially comotose", he said.

A number of people carry him upstairs to a bedroom of the hotel, where he was later found dead.

A doctor could not determine the cause of death, but said it may have flowed from his high concentration of alcohol combined with the medication he was taking for mental health issues.

The magistrate found Alison Louise Selleck, 21, Tom Gardner, 30 and Firstlite Pty Ltd - the holder of the hotel's licence - guilty of supplying liquor to Mr Short when he was a noticeably alcohol-impaired person.

The magistrate found that Gardner sold Mr Short a beer at 11.07 pm on April 30 when he was staggering, swaying and leaning on the bar, while Selleck did so at 12.03 am when he was swaying and staggering.

The magistrate found that a number of witnesses gave their evidence in a way so as to minimise the apparent effect alcohol had on Mr Short's demeanour.

"I am satisfied it is most likely the deceased's blood alcohol concentration was above the .181 level found during autopsy," he said.

He found that at least from about 10.46pm onwards, Mr Short's balance and co-ordination were noticeably impaired and became more pronounced as the night wore on.

Mr Foley, said the offence attracts a substantial fine but not imprisonment, will hear sentencing submissions on October 13.