Canada Women's national team
FIFA has sanctioned the Canadian women’s national team with a six-point deduction at the 2024 Paris Olympics football event for spying on opponents with a drone.
Earlier this week, two members of the Canadian technical crew flew a drone over the New Zealand training session to spy on their Group A opponents. The incident elicited anger from New Zealand, who lodged a complaint with FIFA.
On Wednesday, Beverly Priestman, the team’s head coach, took full responsibility for the incident and was removed by the Canada Soccer Association (CSA).
In a ruling on Saturday, the FIFA Appeal Committee described the incident as a violation of the principles of fair play and ruled that Canada and its officials were in breach of the Olympic Football Tournament (OFT) responsibilities.
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The committee, therefore, banned Priestman, along with team officials Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander, from all football-related activities for one year.
FIFA also slammed the CSA with a CHF 200,000 fine.
The decisions are subject to an appeal that can be filed within 10 days by all parties involved.
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The points deduction means Canada are rock-bottom in Group A with a three-point deficit despite defeating New Zealand 2-1 in their opening fixture. France and Colombia await in the remaining group stage fixtures.
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