FIFA on Saturday hit Canada’s soccer team hard over its drone surveillance scandal, deducting six points from the Canadian women’s team’s chances at the Paris Olympics and suspending three staff members, including head coach Bev Priestman, for a year.
The penalties include a $313,000 fine levied on the national federation over a spate of incidents last week, when two staff members were caught using a drone to monitor New Zealand’s practice before the team’s 2-1 win over Canada last Thursday.
Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) President David Shoemaker has issued a statement saying he will appeal the points deduction.
“To support our athletes, we are working with the Canadian Soccer Association to explore appeals related to the six-point deduction at this Olympic Games.”
Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue issued a statement supporting the players, confirming their intention to appeal.
Canadian Olympic Committee CEO David Shoemaker said it was possible the national women’s soccer team’s coach knew that a drone was being used to monitor another team’s practice in France. Canada Soccer CEO and executive director Kevin Blue said there were suspicions that “this type of behavior” was “systemic.”
“We are exploring our appeal options as we believe this is excessive punishment for our women’s national team who were not involved in any unethical conduct,” Blue said.
“Canada Soccer has taken swift action to suspend the relevant staff member and is also conducting a broader independent review which may result in further disciplinary action.”
Canada Soccer was held accountable for failing to ensure that its staff adhered to tournament rules. Priestman, who led Canada to victory at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, was already suspended by his national federation and was excluded from the Olympic tournament.
“Obviously what’s happened has been very unfortunate and difficult,” interim head coach Andy Spence said in a statement about 30 minutes before the announcement was made.
Canadian Olympic Committee CEO and Secretary General David Shoemaker discusses the Canada Soccer Association’s decision to suspend national women’s team coach Bev Priestman through the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“I think that was an opportunity for me to say that it was a personal inconsistency with what I believe in, what Canadian football believes in, what our values ​​are and what the team believes in. And I had nothing to do with that.
“I feel like I need to put all my energy and focus into pushing the team and helping the team move forward.”
The staff and Canada Soccer can challenge the sanctions at the Special Olympics Tribunal of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Paris, which was set up for emergency hearings and rulings at the Olympics.
Canada will not be excluded from the competition even if a point deduction is approved by the CAS panel of judges.
This means the team will need to win all three games in Group A and hope to secure second place in the standings and earn three points to progress to the next round.
“This is devastating. It’s reckless and shameful for the staff to put these players in this position. I’m so upset about the #CanWNT,” former Canadian national team member Kara Lange wrote on X.
FIFA has asked the appeals court to deal with the case, expediting its own disciplinary process.
The FIFA referees found Priestman and her two assistants “responsible for one act of aggression and one for a breach of the principles of fair play”.
The Canadian Soccer Association said in a statement that it was responsible for failing to comply with FIFA regulations in relation to its failure to ensure that officials participating in the tournament adhered to the rule prohibiting the flying of drones over all training grounds.
Canada will play its final group match against Colombia in Nice on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media in Paris, Canadian Soccer Association CEO Kevin Blue mentioned how the Canadian women’s and men’s soccer teams have used drones to monitor closed practices in other countries.
