Spiraling drone-spying scandal at Olympics risks damage to Canadian soccer ahead of 2026 World Cup

PARIS — Canadian soccer officials admitted in evidence to FIFA that spying on opponents was routinely done, for the men’s national team as well as the women’s team which has been punished for using drones at the Paris Olympics.

The drone-spying scandal threatens to spread beyond the Olympics, where Canada is the defending women’s champion, to the men’s team at the 2026 World Cup.

Canada is one of the 2026 World Cup home teams, co-hosting the 48-team tournament with the United States and Mexico.

Canada lost its appeal Wednesday at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a six-point penalty imposed by the sport’s world governing body for spying on New Zealand practices ahead of their opening game last week.

The urgent verdict was published just hours before Canada — on zero points despite winning its first two games, against New Zealand and France — plays Colombia at Nice.

While Canada’s players can revive their Olympic title hopes on the field, the damage to the country’s reputation for soccer integrity was hit hard Wednesday — and risks further damage from spinoff investigations.

FIFA on Wednesday published its judge’s document with detailed evidence to explain the sweeping Olympic punishments.

Canada’s appeal to CAS failed to overturn an unprecedented six-point deduction in the Group A standings, a 200,000 Swiss francs ($227,000) fine and one-year bans from global soccer for head coach Bev Priestman, an assistant coach and a performance analyst who flew the spying drone.

Spying was something the Canada women’s team “has ‘always done’ and it was the ‘difference between winning and losing,’” FIFA appeals judge Neil Eggleston wrote in a 26-page document detailing evidence and witness statements to help explain the verdict.

Actions by the Canadian team at the Olympics were “inexcusable and unacceptable,” wrote Eggleston, a former White House Counsel in the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama.

“Bev Priestman references that the men’s senior national team may have employed a similar scouting tactic,” the Canadian soccer federation wrote in its submission to the FIFA hearing.

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.”

The FIFA document, even with redacted sections, appears to connect Priestman to John Herdman, the coach of Major League Soccer club Toronto.

Herdman coached the Canada women’s team from 2011-18, then took over the men’s team leading it to the 2022 World Cup. That was Canada’s first appearance at the tournament for 36 years.

The Canadian Press last week quoted Herdman saying “I’m highly confident that in my time as a head coach at an Olympic Games or World Cup we’ve never been involved in any of those activities.”

Priestman was assistant to Herdman with Canada’s women’s team, then got the head coach job in 2020. The Olympic title was won one year later at the Tokyo Games.

The 38-year-old Priestman apologized to the Canada players and said she was “absolutely heartbroken” for them about the Olympic scandal.

Canada team officials have said the players were unaware of any attempts to cheat.

“While disappointed in the outcome of our appeal, we commend the players for their incredible resilience and grit over the course of this tournament,” the Canadian Olympic Committee said in a statement Wednesday.

Priestman stepped aside from team before the New Zealand game, then was suspended by Canadian officials and sent home before the FIFA ban was announced.

The FIFA document details how team analyst Joseph Lombardi was detained by French police on July 22, held for three days and given an eight-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty.

Flying a drone over an Olympic competition site was prohibited in France, and the New Zealand team had alerted security officials at its training site in Saint-Etienne. Lombardi admitted he also filmed the July 20 practice.

“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.

Priestman has written in internal emails that illicit scouting “can be the difference between winning and losing and all top 10 teams do it.”

In its formal complaint to FIFA, the New Zealand soccer federation said “the integrity of the upcoming match has now been compromised” and asked to be awarded the three points.

Canada won the game 2-1 last Thursday. New Zealand was not awarded the competition points and was in last place in Group A ahead of its match against France on Wednesday.

In its second game, Canada stunned France in another comeback 2-1 win sealed by scoring in the 12th minute of stoppage time Sunday.

FIFA judge Eggleston wrote that the Canadian soccer delegation’s responsibility for spying is “heightened in this case considering that it is the reigning champion.”

Canadian officials and coaches, he said, “must set the ethical tone for the team.”

Eggleston insisted FIFA should get details of the now-launched Canadian investigation to “decide whether further action by the FIFA bodies is necessary and appropriate.”

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games