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The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the joint appeal from the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canada Soccer in regards to FIFA docking Canada’s women’s Olympic team six points after being caught using a drone to spy on training sessions in Paris.
From CAS:
The application filed by the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canada Soccer (the Applicants) in relation to the six-point deduction imposed on the Canadian women’s soccer team for the football tournament at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 has been dismissed.
The Applicants sought a decision from the CAS Ad hoc Division either cancelling or reducing the points deduction imposed by the FIFA Appeal Committee in its decision of 27 July 2024 after it established that breaches of the FIFA regulations applicable to the Olympic football tournament concerning the prohibition on flying drones over training sites had occurred.
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Along with the six-point deduction, FIFA also handed out one-year bans for head coach Bev Priestman, assistant Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi. Those suspensions were not part of the appeal.
“I am absolutely heartbroken for the players, and I would like to apologize from the bottom of my heart for the impact this situation has had on all of them,” Priestman said in a statement released after FIFA decision was announced.
“As the leader of the team on the field, I want to take accountability,” she added, “and I plan to fully cooperate with the investigation.”
Canada Soccer decided not to withdraw from the Olympics because the players weren’t involved in the drone use and hoped to avoid a penalty from FIFA with swift action.
Lombardi was caught flying a drone over New Zealand’s practice ahead of their Olympics opener. His hotel room was later searched and drone footage was found, after which he admitted that he watched two New Zealand training sessions to learn the team’s tactics.
Canada has won its first two group games and sits on zero points following the points deduction. They play Colombia on Wednesday and a win could secure a place in the next round if they are one of the two best third-place teams in the three groups.
