Canada will be docked six points for using a drone to spy on the Football Ferns’ training sessions ahead of their match at the Olympic Games.
Three coaches have been banned from all forms of football for a year and Canada Soccer have been fined 200,000 Swiss frances (NZ$385,000).
Main photo: Head coach Bev Priestman … barred from all football-related activity for a year.
The decisions were made by FIFA, the governing body for the Olympic football tournament.
Its ruling says: “[Canada] was found responsible for failing to respect the applicable FIFA regulations in connection with its failure to ensure the compliance of its participating officials of the Olympic Football Tournament (OFT) with the prohibition on flying drones over any training sites.
“The officials were each found responsible for offensive behaviour and violation of the principles of fair play in connection with the [Canada’s] Women’s representative team’s drones usage in the scope of the OFT.”
NZ Football: ‘Disappointing we’ve been put in this position’
In a statement, NZ Football said: “It is good to see swift action has been taken against Canada, with the team docked six points following the multiple drone incidents, however the issue still remains that they likely had an unfair sporting advantage gained by filming our key tactical sessions, when they played New Zealand and won by a single goal.
“It’s disappointing that New Zealand has been placed in such a position by actions of this nature, that impact the entire tournament, but now our focus is firmly on our remaining games against Colombia and France.”
Canada Soccer have 10 days in which they can choose to appeal the decision before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Canada’s head coach Bev Priestman, who had already been suspended by Canada Soccer following claims drones had been used to snoop on opponents over many years, will be banned from taking part in any football-related activity for a year.
READ MORE: Canadian coach Bev Priestman suspended as fallout escalates over drone use >>>>
Assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst/assistant Joey Lombardi are also barred from football for 12 months.
Lombardi last week received an eight-month suspended jail sentence after he was detained by French authorities for having flown an unmanned aircraft in an urban area.
In their tournament opener, Canada beat New Zealand 2-1.
Canada can still finish the group with three points if they win their remaining games against France and Colombia.
This story was first published on July 28, 2024.
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