Canada’s women’s soccer team has been docked six points in the Paris Olympics soccer tournament after it was revealed they were using drones to spy on their first group stage opponent, New Zealand.
In addition to the points deduction, the federation has been fined 200,000 Swiss francs for the infringement.
Beyond the tournament, head coach Bev Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander and uncredited analyst Joseph Lombardi have been suspended from participating in any football-related activities for one year.
All of these decisions were made by FIFA, the governing body of the Olympic football tournament.
“(Canada) was found liable for failing to comply with applicable FIFA regulations in relation to its failure to ensure compliance by its Olympic Football Tournament (OFT) participating officials with the ban on flying drones over any training site,” reads the official decision on FIFA’s website.
Canada’s women’s soccer team dropped six points in Olympic women’s soccer
Bev Priestman and two assistant coaches have been suspended from football for one year.
‘The officials were found responsible for offensive conduct and breaching the principles of fair play in relation to the use of drones by the (Canadian) women’s representative team under the OFT’s jurisdiction.’
The Canadian Soccer Federation has ten days to request a reasoned decision, which would be published on FIFA’s legal website.
Canada Soccer also has the option to appeal this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
At a news conference on Friday, Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue said the federation is in the process of reviewing what appears to be a “systemic ethical deficiency” regarding the use of drones to spy on opposing teams.
Blue says the federation is attempting to directly address the matter it has declared “unacceptable” and is conducting an independent review. He added that these allegations could date back several years “long before” the current coaches of the men’s and women’s national teams.
Blue says the Paris Olympics players “were not involved in any unethical behavior” and that, to his knowledge, they had not seen any drone footage of Lombardi.
For this reason, and because of the federation’s swift action in suspending the coaches, Blue said at the time that a points deduction would be “unfair” to the players.
Canadian Soccer Federation CEO Kevin Blue addresses ‘systemic’ use of drones to spy on teams
Canada women’s national team coach Bev Priestman and two other coaches have been suspended from the Olympics after using a drone to spy on their first-round opponents, New Zealand.
The issue of using drones to spy on the opposition is apparently so systemic that there have even been reports of their use by the men’s team as well.
Blue admitted to reporters that someone on the men’s team attempted to use a drone during this summer’s Copa America. Canada finished fourth in the tournament, its first appearance in the South American continental competition.
Blue said Canadian men’s national team head coach Jesse Marsch learned of the drone use “after the fact” and “immediately and strongly” reported it to his coaching staff.
The CEO added that the events of the Copa America and the Olympic Games were “significantly different” when it came to the “potential impact on competitive integrity.”
Andy Spence, who has taken over Olympic coaching duties from Priestman, has not been given an interim coaching title and no final decisions have been made on coaching staff. Blue believes Spence was not aware of the issue of drone use.
Asked by CBC if Blue was considering pulling the team from the Olympics, the CEO said: “I have considered and thought deeply about the implications of this matter for the Canadian delegation. I have given it a lot of thought and I am, frankly, very disappointed and frustrated by the distraction it has created.
“But I have not considered withdrawing from the team, again, primarily because we feel we have addressed the situation quickly and meaningfully. It would be a detriment to our players who have worked so hard and sacrificed so much to be Olympians and have not themselves engaged in unethical behavior.
Canada beat New Zealand 2-1 in their first group stage match on Thursday afternoon.
“And I will not consider withdrawing based on the fact that we support our players as Olympians and their right to be here and their right to compete.”
Canada already played their first group game against New Zealand, a 2-1 victory over the Football Ferns.
New Zealand asked the International Olympic Committee before the match that no points be awarded to Canada as a result of the use of drones.
Canada’s next match will be against host country France in Saint-Etienne on Sunday.
