Drone Spying Scandal: Canadian Women Football Team Stripped of Points at Olympics, Coaches Punished
On Saturday, FIFA deducted six points from Canada in the women's football tournament at the Olympic Games in Paris and disqualified three coaches for one year due to a drone spying scandal.
This was reported by Associatad Press.
The penalties also include a $226,000 fine for the Canadian Football Federation.
As it turned out, two assistant coaches of Canadian football players used drones to spy on the training sessions of their opponent, New Zealand, before their first game last Wednesday.
As a result, the team's head coach, Bev Priestman, was suspended from the Olympic Games. Canadian authorities suspect that such espionage has been systematic for many years.
Priestman and her two assistants, Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander, are now banned from football for one year.
According to the FIFA judges, Priestman and her assistants ‘were found responsible for offensive behaviour and violation of the principles of fair play’.
The case is likely to be referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s special Olympic court in Paris.
The deduction of points does not exclude Canada from the tournament. However, the team will have to win all three matches in Group A and hope to advance to the quarterfinals with three points.
As The Gaze previously reported, the opening ceremony of the XXXIII Summer Olympic Games took place in Paris on Friday evening.