PARIS: Canada were deducted six points from the Olympic women’s football tournament and their head coach Bev Priestman banned for a year, global governing body FIFA said on Saturday, following a drone spying scandal that has tainted their gold medal defence.

Priestman, who has coached the team since 2020, and Canadian officials Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander have been banned from any football-related activity for one year for “offensive behaviour and violation of the principles of fair play”, FIFA said.

Canada’s football association “was found responsible for failing to respect the applicable FIFA regulations in connection with... the prohibition on flying drones over any training sites”, FIFA said.

It also handed down a fine of 200,000 Swiss francs ($226,000).

New Zealand complained that Canadian staff flew drones over their training sessions before their opening fixture at the Olympics, which the Canada won 2-1.

The incident caused Priestman and the other officials involved to be suspended by Canada Soccer, the sport’s national governing body, and sent home from the Games.

There was no immediate comment from Canada Soccer or the Canadian Olympic Committee.

On Friday, former Canadian national team players Christine Sinclair and Stephanie Labbe said players had never been shown drone footage during their time on the team.

The ruling is a hammer blow to Canada’s hopes of defending the Olympic title they won at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

It leaves them on minus three points in Group A before they play hosts France on Sunday in Saint-Etienne.

They beat New Zealand 2-1 in their opening game on Thursday but the deduction means they now face having to win their next two matches to stand any chance of reaching the quarter-finals.

The top two teams in each group and the two best third-ranked teams qualify for the Olympic quarter-finals.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2024