Canada football team member given eight-month suspended jail sentence over Olympic spy scandal

A member of coaching staff on the Canadian women’s football team has been handed an eight-month suspended prison sentence after using a drone to spy on a New Zealand training session.

Joseph Lombardi was sentenced just two days after it emerged he had used a drone to record an opposing team on two occasions.

The 43-year-old Canadian national was “tried Wednesday afternoon as part of a preliminary admission of guilt hearing (CRPC), [and] accepted his sentence” according to the Saint-Étienne prosecutor’s office.

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) previously issued a statement acknowledging that “a non-accredited member of the Canada Soccer support team was detained by French authorities” following a complaint by New Zealand Football.

Lombardi was listed ahead of the games as one of six team coaches. He has been involved with the women’s national team since 2013, according to his Canada Soccer profile, and has also assisted the men’s team since 2018.

New Zealand Football CEO Andrew Pragnell had called on Fifa to take urgent action over the spying scandal involving the defending Olympic champions Canada and said failure to do so could tarnish the sporting integrity of the entire tournament.

“There is no place for this type of action in football and it is critical that urgent action is undertaken to address this integrity breach,” Pragnell said in a statement on Thursday.

“To hear now that the Canadian team had filmed secret footage of our team training at least twice is incredibly concerning and if not treated urgently could have wider implications for the integrity of the tournament.”

Canada women’s coach Bev Priestman removed herself from opening match duties amid the allegations of drone use.

Canada Soccer has said it will launch an independent review into the matter while Fifa has begun disciplinary proceedings.

COC CEO David Shoemaker said he was confident coach Priestman had no knowledge of the spying incident but added that if any facts were to become known suggesting she was involved, then the body would impose further sanctions.

“We note that there have been some admissions by the Canadian National Olympic Committee, and they have taken their own sanctions against the Canadian team,” Pragnell added.

“However, considering the seriousness of the situation, and the potential implications to the sporting integrity of the entire tournament, we have referred the matter to the FIFA disciplinary committee seeking urgent action.”

Canada, who won their first Olympic title three years ago in Tokyo, open their campaign in Paris against Group A opponents New Zealand later on Thursday.

French security forces at Paris 2024 sites are intercepting an average of six drones every day, according to French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.

Attal said that the drones were often operated by tourists wanting to take pictures.

“That’s why it’s important to remind people of the rules – there’s a ban on flying drones,” he said.

“Systems are in place to allow us to very quickly intercept (drones) and arrest their operators.”