Canada’s Drone Scandal Appeal Dismissed by Sports Court

Canada’s Drone Scandal Appeal Dismissed by Sports Court

Canada’s appeal against their women’s football team’s points deduction at the Paris Games was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Wednesday.

Defending champions Canada were docked six points, while coach Bev Priestman and officials Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander were banned from any football-related activity for one year by FIFA. This followed New Zealand’s complaint that Canadian staff flew drones over their training sessions before their opening match.

“The application filed by the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canada Soccer, in relation to the six-point deduction imposed on the Canadian women’s football team for the football tournament at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, has been dismissed,” CAS said, with the reasoned decision to be published later.

On Monday, Sport Canada said it was withholding funding allocated for the salaries of Priestman and the two other suspended team officials, calling the drone scandal an embarrassment to all Canadians.

Canada, who won their first two games but now have no points due to the deduction, are third in Group A behind Colombia and France. A victory against Colombia later on Wednesday would secure their passage to the quarter-finals.

While Canada accepted the bans for their backroom staff, they argued the points deduction was too severe. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed the appeal.

The scandal has led to English coach Priestman being removed as Olympic head coach, with assistant coach Andy Spence now managing the side. FIFA also fined Canada’s Soccer Association £175,720 for the incident.