The Canadian women’s soccer team that will participate in the Paris Olympic Games has been accused of espionage by using a drone to record the training sessions of an upcoming opponent.
The members of the New Zealand team saw the drone flying on Monday during a training session in Saint-Étienne, the venue where the match between the two nations will take place on Thursday. It has also been reported that a similar flight took place three days earlier, on Friday.
After the news of the alleged reconnaissance missions became known, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) issued an apology, insisting in a statement that it ‘stands for fair play’ and felt ‘shocked and disappointed’ by what happened.
And they added: ‘We offer our most sincere apologies to New Zealand soccer, all affected players, and the New Zealand Olympic Committee. We are reviewing the next steps with the IOC [International Olympic Committee], Paris 2024, Canada Soccer, and FIFA.’
The culprits have been expelled from the team and are now in Canada
Two members of the Canadian Olympic team involved in the scandal have been sent home: it is believed that one of them is the alleged operator of the drone, and the other is an assistant coach of the Canadian team who apparently received information collected during the drone flights.
The COC has also confirmed that it has accepted the offer from the coach of the Canadian team, Bev Priestman, to resign from her coaching duties for the match against New Zealand.
In a statement, Priestman, who denied having played any role in the incident, said: ‘On behalf of our entire team, first and foremost I want to apologize to the players and staff of New Zealand Soccer and the players of the Canadian team. This does not represent the values that our team upholds. I am ultimately responsible for the conduct in our program.’
The New Zealand Olympic Committee has formally reported the incident to the IOC Integrity Unit and has requested a full review from Canada. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has also opened an official investigation into the incident.
