FIFA has handed down one of the heaviest sanctions in Olympic women’s football history, deducting six points from reigning gold medallist Canada, banning three of its coaches and fining its association nearly $350,000 after The women’s national team has been accused of using drones to spy on its opponents.
Disciplinary proceedings were opened against the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) last week after their group stage opponents New Zealand reported a drone flying over their closed-door training session ahead of their opening match.
An unaccredited assistant coach, Joseph Lombardi, was caught by French police using a drone on Monday, less than a week before their first match against New Zealand.
As part of their investigation, police reportedly found footage of a second training session filmed by a drone, as well as text messages between Lombardi and his accredited assistant, Jasmine Mander, discussing its use.
Both coaches were sent home from Paris within 48 hours of the allegations being made public, though questions remain about whether Canada’s head coach, Bev Priestman, was aware of the operation.
Asked at a pre-match press conference, Priestman did not directly answer whether she was aware that her assistant coaches had used a drone to spy on her opponents, but she voluntarily withdrew from training for the next day’s match.
Canada won the opening game 2-1, but those three points will now be removed from their record, and three more will be deducted, seriously jeopardizing their gold medal defense. They can now finish the group stage with no more than three points, which may not be enough to advance to the quarterfinals.
After that match, Canada Soccer officials recommended suspending Priestman from Paris, with Olympic committee CEO David Shoemaker saying they had “gathered additional information ourselves that led me to conclude that (Priestman) was most likely aware of the incident.”
Canada’s track record in recent years is now being called into question following allegations of historical drone spying. (Getty Images: Football Australia/Craig Mitchelldyer)
FIFA appears to have verified this information, with Priestman and his two assistants now banned from all football-related activities for at least a year. saying in a statement “They were all found responsible for offensive behaviour and a breach of the principles of fair play.”
FIFA also reprimanded Canada Soccer “for failing to comply with applicable FIFA regulations in relation to its failure to ensure compliance by its officials participating in the Olympic football tournament with the ban on flying drones over any training venue” and fined them 200,000 Swiss francs, or approximately $345,400.
Canada Soccer said it was exploring its options to appeal part of FIFA’s decision.
“We are sorry to the athletes of the Canadian women’s Olympic soccer team who, to our knowledge, played no role in this matter,” Shoemaker said in a statement Sunday.
“In support of the athletes, in collaboration with Canada Soccer, we are exploring the appeal rights related to the six-point deduction during this Olympic tournament.”
While Canada may successfully appeal the Paris points deduction, it is unlikely that the bans and fines will be overturned after reports emerged this week The use of drones to spy on opponents has been happening for years in many senior and youth programs, with unnamed former officials saying they were pressured by management to participate or risk losing their jobs.
Canada won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, but the drone spying scandal now casts doubt on that result.
This includes Canada’s gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, as well as the men’s team’s qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
FIFA has not said whether another investigation is underway into the historic allegations. However, individuals or teams found guilty of cheating have already been stripped of their Olympic medals.
If such a sanction is imposed, the Matildas could be retroactively awarded a bronze medal after their fourth-place finish in Tokyo.
“It’s terrible, the worst possible scenario,” said Amy Walsh, a former Canadian women’s national team player.
“I feel nauseous, I have a really bad stomach ache. I understand that when you reach a high level, people will be ruthless and do whatever they can to gain a competitive advantage, but this is really too far.
“Players are taking advantage of coaches cheating. Players have blind faith that coaches are doing things right, and that’s the ultimate betrayal.”
Canada Soccer may also appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
