New Zealand's Katie Kitching, left, and Canada's Jade Rose vie for the ball during the group A Olympic soccer match on July 25. Canadian sports fans in Paris are using words like 'embarrassing' and 'disappointing' to describe their reactions a drone spying scandal that has rocked Canada Soccer in the early days of the Olympic Games.Silvia Izquierdo/The Associated Press
Women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman apologized Sunday to Canadians after a drone-spying scandal rocked the country and pushed her team to the verge of elimination at the Paris Olympics.
Ms. Priestman was banned from participating in soccer for one year under FIFA sanctions handed down Saturday and will be subject to a Canada Soccer investigation.
“To Canada, I am sorry. You have been my home and a country I have fallen in love with. I hope you will continue to support these extremely talented and hard-working players, to help them defy all odds and show their true character,” her statement read in part.
FIFA, soccer’s governing body, docked Canada’s Olympic women’s soccer squad six points on Saturday for fair-play violations stemming from the spying scandal that has dominated news coverage of the Canadian Olympic team at Paris 2024.
FIFA also levelled a fine of approximately $313,000 against the association.
Canada to appeal FIFA’s points deduction at women’s Olympic soccer tournament
Carla Qualtrough, Canada’s minister of sport, said that the federal government will withhold some of Canada Soccer’s funding following the FIFA sanctions. The held-back money would only impact coaching salaries, and have no impact on overall financing for the women’s team, she said Sunday.
“If a coach can’t coach, they shouldn’t be given money from the government of Canada, from the people of Canada,” said Ms. Qualtrough, who was in attendance for Sunday’s soccer game in Saint Etienne, where Canada defeated France 2-1.
Standing outside Stade Geoffrey Guichard, she went on to say that she felt the FIFA sanction was too harsh, and that if the sports federation wanted to address the perception of unfair advantage with a sanction, a three point deduction would have been sufficient.
“To go beyond that, it’s really punishing the players,” she said.
Earlier in the week, the program became enveloped in a scandal related to a staff member using a drone to spy on an opponent’s closed practices.
The staffer, Joseph Lombardi, was arrested by French police for flying an unmanned aircraft in a prohibited area. He admitted guilt and agreed to an eight-month suspended sentence. Ms. Priestman denied involvement but voluntarily stepped aside for the tournament opener, a 2-1 victory over New Zealand.
After receiving new information on Friday, Canada Soccer suspended Ms. Priestman pending the investigation.
Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue told reporters that his decision to remove Ms. Priestman from the helm of the women’s team for the remainder of the Olympics came after discovering previous drone usage against opponents that predates the Paris Olympics.
He also indicated he was aware of one instance of “attempted drone usage” by the men’s team during their recent Copa America run but did not provide specifics.
Ms. Priestman was appointed coach of the national women’s team in 2020, and led the side to a gold medal at the Tokyo Games. That victory may now be tarnished.
Former players, including the longstanding face of the team – even the sport in Canada – Christine Sinclair, shared their dismay at the scandal unfolding in Paris.
“It’s unfortunate that players of the National Team have to play through condemnable actions by some staff as they attempt to defend our gold medal,” Ms. Sinclair, who denied being exposed to drone footage in team meetings, said in an Instagram post.
Eight teams will advance beyond the group stage of the tournament. The top two from each of the three groups will move on, plus the top two third-place finishers.
– With a report from Cathal Kelly in Saint-Étienne, France
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