Canada have been deducted six points from the Olympic women’s football tournament and their head coach Bev Priestman banned for a year following the drone spying scandal, FIFA said on Saturday.
Coaches Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander have also been banned for a year while the Canadian football federation has been fined 200,000 Swiss francs ($226,000) in a case that has spiralled at the Summer Games in Paris.
Priestman, who led Canada to the Olympic title in Tokyo in 2021, was already suspended by the national federation and sent home from the Olympic tournament.
The 38-year-old, who was formerly assistant to Phill Neville with England Women, is now banned from all football for one year after Lombardi and Mander were caught using drones to spy on opponents New Zealand’s training before their opening game last Wednesday.
FIFA fast-tracked its own disciplinary process by asking its appeals judges to handle the case.
FIFA judges found Priestman and her two assistants “were each found responsible for offensive behaviour and violation of the principles of fair play.”
The Canadian federation was held responsible for not ensuring its staff complied with tournament rules.
The coaches and the Canadian federation can now challenge their sanctions at the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s special Olympic court in Paris. That tribunal is set up for urgent hearings and verdicts at the Olympics.
The points deduction, if upheld by the CAS judges, does not eliminate Canada from the tournament. It could mean the team must win all three games in Group A and hope to advance with three points, likely as runner-up in the standings. Canada play France on Sunday in Saint-Etienne, then Colombia on Thursday in Nice.
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) have removed women’s football manager Bev Priestman for the remainder of the Olympics
Canada Women’s gold medal victory at the Tokyo Olympics has also been called into question by new information brought to light around the spy drone scandal, according to the country’s Olympic Committee chief.
Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) CEO David Shoemaker said he has been made aware of information which he says “could tarnish that Olympic performance in Tokyo”.
“It makes me ill, it makes me sick to my stomach to think that there could be something that calls it into question,” he added.
Three years ago at the rearranged 2020 Olympics, Canada beat Sweden on penalties to claim their first major title.
Canada’s 2024 Olympic campaign in France got off to a winning start against New Zealand on Thursday under assistant coach Andy Spence, but not before assistant coach Mander and Lombardi, an unaccredited analyst with Canada Soccer, were sent home in connection with what the COC believed to be two separate incidents of a drone being used to record Football Ferns training sessions.
Priestman initially stood down only for the first game, with Shoemaker saying it was unlikely that the head coach was aware of the drone incidents in St Etienne.
Canada beat New Zealand 2-1 on Thursday
However things escalated on Friday when Canada Soccer announced Durham-born Priestman had been sent home from Paris after “additional information” came to their attention regarding previous drone use that took place before the 2024 Olympics.
The COC also now believes Priestman was “highly likely” to have been aware of two alleged incidents involving drones being used to spy on New Zealand.
“In light of these new revelations, Canada Soccer has made the decision to suspend Women’s National Team Head Coach, Bev Priestman for the remainder of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and until the completion of our recently announced independent external review,” Canada Soccer CEO and General Secretary Kevin Blue said in an emailed statement.
Shoemaker said he felt comfortable keeping the footballers in the Olympic tournament after dishing out the “ultimate sanction” to the three staff.
Addressing a press conference at Canada Olympic House, Shoemaker added: “One of the key pieces of information was the conclusion from Canada Soccer that she needed to be suspended based on their accumulation of facts.
“I’ve seen some of the information they have, and we gathered some additional information ourselves.
“That made me conclude that she was highly likely to have been aware of the incidents here in St Etienne.”
Priestman issued a statement on Wednesday apologising for the alleged incidents.
Following the incident, the 38-year-old said: “I first and foremost want to apologise to the players and staff at New Zealand Football and to the players on Team Canada. This does not represent the values that our team stands for.
“I am ultimately responsible for conduct in our program.”