Canada lose ‘disruptive’ appeal in ongoing Olympic soccer drone scandal

A drone spying scandal continues to weigh on Canadian soccer, after the women’s team lost a last-ditch appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, hours before a must-win match at the Paris Games. The court’s decision marks the latest in a “profoundly disappointing” week for the sport in Canada and another setback for a team defending their Olympic title.

The scandal, which involved using a drone to spy on rival New Zealand, has rocked the sport in Canada, exacting steep costs on the team. Three staff members, including the head coach, Bev Priestman, have been barred from organized soccer for a year. Canada Soccer has been ordered to pay a fine of $313,000. Fifa, the sport’s global governing body, also levied a six-point deduction against the team.

On Wednesday, the panel of three judges at the CAS dismissed Canada’s appeal of the point deduction. But Clare Rustad, who played for Canada in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, says a last-minute reversal or change by the court would have been “disruptive” to all the teams in the tournament.

“The principles of fair play were violated and an infraction took place. Cheating took place in an attempt to alter the results. And so a results-based consequence was appropriate,” Rustad told the Guardian. “But the number of points a team has really affects the preparation and how they approach the final group phase matches.”

Canada’s Olympics committee and Canada Soccer had previously argued the decision – equivalent to a pair of wins – unfairly punishes the players.

“What’s been really hard for people to grapple with is the team sanction – and it’s important to call it that. Because it’s not a sanction to the players, it’s a sanction against the team – and the team includes the coaching staff and everybody involved,” said Rustad.

“I’m happy Fifa acted swiftly and decisively. And I hope that in the future, they do that again. Because there are certainly other areas that within the football world, like bigotry, that could do with such swift disciplinary action as well.”

Ahead of the court’s decision, Priestman made her first public comments on the scandal, saying she was “absolutely heartbroken” for the players.

“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 an email through her lawyers. The head coach had previously removed herself from the opening match against New Zealand, but said she was unaware of the actions of her staff.

But emails submitted as evidence to the Fifa Appeal Committee suggest Priestman sought guidance on how to deal with a staff member who refused to spy for “moral” reasons, according to reporting by the Globe and Mail.

“It’s something the analyst has always done and I know there is a whole operation on the men’s side with regards to it,” Priestman wrote in an email dated 20 March 2024, framing the spying as a “scouting” issue.

“When she was asked if she knew about the spying, there’s no good answer for that question. Either you knew and you were complicit or you didn’t know and you had lost control of your staff,” said Rustad. “I think more information will just kind of continue to come out. But this whole thing has just been profoundly disappointing.”

Earlier this week, Canada’s sports minister, Carla Qualtrough, also alluded to a “deeply concerning” pattern of behaviour at Canada Soccer, including reports the men’s team used drones to spy on opponents in previous tournaments. “We must, and will, get to the bottom of this,” Qualtrough said.

Sport Canada is also withholding funding from Priestman and her two banned assistants, Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander.

Canada, looking to defend their 2020 gold medal, won their opening game against New Zealand and notched a nail-biting victory over France. The team plays Colombia on Wednesday evening, a must-win match if they hope to move out of the group stage.

In the absence of a head coach, Rustad says the players have shown “incredible” on-field leadership.

“For those of us watching, there’s been this escalating sense of nausea as the tournament progressed,” she said. “The players are focused on getting the results they need. But for everyone involved, this week has really felt like a month.”