Dronegate derails Canada title defence
Dronegate, the unexpected story to overshadow the Olympic women’s football tournament, took another twist on Saturday when Canada was docked six points in the Olympics and had three coaches, including head coach Bev Priestman, banned for a year by Fifa. Canada also received a fine of CHF 200,000.
What happened?
Mon, 22 July: Canada was accused of spying on New Zealand’s closed training session days before their opening game. The method of choice? A drone. The drone operator, Joseph Lombardi, an unaccredited member of the Canadian support staff, was arrested by police and promptly issued with an eight-month suspended jail sentence for flying an unmanned aircraft over a prohibited area.
Wed, 24 July: Priestman dodged the question when asked if she knew about the spying, and removed herself from managing Canada for the New Zealand match.
Two coaches, Jasmine Mander and Joseph Lombardi, were sent home by the Canada Olympic Committee after learning another spying incident happened on 19 July.
Thur, 25 July: Canada beat New Zealand 2-1.
Also Thur, 25 July: TSN broke the news that this was not an isolated incident and both Canadian men’s and women’s teams used drones to spy on opponents over multiple years and tournaments dating back to at least 2019. Sources admitted spying occurred during Tokyo 2021 when the Canadian women won gold.
TSN’s sources also indicated that spying was institutionalised at Canada Soccer. Contractors and staff were expected to spy as part of their duties and were told if they refused, there would be no place for them on Team Canada.
Repercussions:
Fri, 26 July: Following TSN’s revelations, Canada Soccer suspended Priestman indefinitely, and opened an independent investigation into the scandal.
Sat, 27 July: The Olympics and FIFA deducted the six points and suspended the coaches for violating the principles of fair play.
Canada states it will explore appealing the six-point deduction believing it excessively punishes the players who had no part in the spying.
What does Dronegate mean for the Canadian players and their legacy?
The situation seems to be without precedent, but if it’s found that Canada cheated their way to the Tokyo gold medal by gaining an unfair advantage after watching their opponents, literally from the bushes, then the historic achievements of now-retired players such as Christine Sinclair would be undermined.
Sinclair made a statement condemning the actions of the staff and made clear that she had never seen drone footage in any meetings she’s been present for during her international career, before adding her support for the current team.
In the meantime, Canada finds themselves on 0 points in their group after two wins.