Canada's coach Bev Priestman stands on the touchline during the Women's World Cup Group B soccer match between Canada and Ireland in Perth, Australia, Wednesday, July 26, 2023.Gary Day/The Associated Press
Because Canada would not remove its women’s soccer team from the Olympics, FIFA has just about done it.
On Saturday, the governing body of world soccer – which oversees that sport at the Olympics – docked Canada six points at this tournament.
In a release, Canadian Olympic Committee CEO David Shoemaker said he “feels terrible for the athletes.” Canada plans to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The women’s team has two of its three first-round games remaining. Now with a maximum total of three points from them, it is difficult to imagine the Canadians progressing. They would need to run the table, including the game on Sunday in Saint-Étienne against world No. 2 France.
Even if Canada were to do that, it would need help from the last two teams in its group.
So the soccer team’s Olympics hasn’t ended, but it’s close to rolling credits.
Additionally, FIFA imposed sanctions on three Canadian coaches. Head coach Bev Priestman and two of her staffers, Jasmine Mander and Joseph Lombardi, are banned from having any involvement in organized soccer for one year.
FIFA sped up its own processes in order to render the judgment so quickly. A panel of appeals judges said the three “were each found responsible for offensive behaviour and violation of the principles of fair play.”
Canada Soccer had already suspended Priestman pending its own investigation. It now seems unlikely it would keep faith with her regardless of what that probe uncovers.
Also, the permanently cash-strapped program is fined 200,000 Swiss Francs ($313,000) it probably can’t afford.
It is a remarkable rebuke to a program that has been reeling in Paris. It’s been three days since news broke that a staff analyst was arrested by local authorities. He was caught flying a drone over a practice by Canada’s first opponent here, New Zealand.
That began a great unwinding. At first, the COC said two suspended staffers – the drone pilot and his immediate superior, an assistant coach – had been sent home.
Shoemaker endorsed Priestman.
“I was persuaded by the fact that Bev Priestman had no involvement, no knowledge of the incident,” Shoemaker said on Wednesday.
Priestman denied she had any involvement in the cheating, but in obscure terms. By Thursday night, she’d also been sent home.
On Friday, Shoemaker said that he would not consider forfeiting Canada’s win over New Zealand or withdrawing the team because “it was to the detriment of the players.”
FIFA did not have the same qualms.
Ironically, the move relieves pressure on the Canadian soccer establishment. The insistence that Canada be seen to do something more than send three individuals home now has its release.
However, the scrutiny on the team will only increase.
To this point, this has been a largely Canadian concern. On Sunday, that changes when Canada plays the host nation in a packed Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
In general, Olympic crowds aren’t partisan. The locals will root for their countrymen, but that doesn’t mean they are rooting against anyone else. That may feel a little different on Sunday.
If Canada wins, it may spark renewed calls to remove the team from the tournament. The Canadians would also need to beat Colombia on Wednesday. At that point, things could get feverish.
If Canada loses, it can finish no better than zero points and is eliminated.
This is a nearly unique instance of an offender adjudged to have broken the rules of fair play at the Olympics, while the Olympics is going on, and being allowed to continue participating.
The question now is not whether Canada can still win. It’s whether it should want to.