The Canadian women’s soccer team may have advanced to the knockout stage at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a 1-0 win over Colombia, but its infamous drone-spying scandal now threatens to spread beyond the Olympics with officials admitting in evidence to FIFA that spying on opponents was routinely done.
The drone spying scandal, initially focused on the women’s team, now hints at a deeper, systemic issue within Canadian soccer, raising concerns about the sport’s integrity in the country.
FIFA’s report included a damning 26-page document where head coach Bev Priestman, who has since been suspended, acknowledged that drone surveillance had been an integral part of their game plan. Internal emails revealed Priestman’s belief that such tactics could be the deciding factor between winning and losing, suggesting that top teams frequently engage in similar practices.
According to the Associated Press, in a past internal email about spying with drones on opponents’ practice sessions, Priestman wrote “I know there is a whole operation on the men’s side with regards to it.” In another such email, Priestman said that illicit scouting “can be the difference between winning and losing and all top 10 teams do it.”
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Joseph Lombardi, the performance analyst who operated the drone at the Paris Olympics, was arrested by French police and later received an eight-month suspended sentence. When police searched his hotel room, they found additional footage of New Zealand’s practice, which Lombardi claimed he did not share with anybody due to the poor quality. He did admit to wanting to impress the Canadian technical staff though, hoping to elevate his role in the team.
“I was non-accredited and wanted to impress the Canadian women’s technical staff with informed/accurate analysis to elevate my role for future opportunities,” Lombardi said in evidence to FIFA.
The fallout from these revelations is significant, with investigations now potentially extending to the Canadian men’s team, which is set to compete in the 2026 World Cup. FIFA judge Neil Eggleston emphasized the heightened responsibility of Canadian officials to uphold ethical standards, especially as reigning champions.
The Canadian Olympic Committee’s appeal against their women’s soccer team’s penalty for spying on New Zealand’s practice sessions was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this week.
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