PARIS – At the Olympic Games, controversy doesn’t always wait for the Opening Ceremony, and a prominent Canadian team is finding itself in the middle of the first notable scandal related to competition here.
The Canadian women’s soccer team is embroiled in a mess after it was revealed on Tuesday that a “non-accredited member” of Canada Soccer’s support team was detained by French police for allegedly using a drone to record a New Zealand women’s team practice in Saint-Etienne.
According to the Canadian Olympic Committee, the incident was revealed after a complaint was made by New Zealand Football on Monday. In a statement, the COC apologized for the mishap, while promising a review of what comes next.
“The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair-play and we are shocked and disappointed,” the COC said in a statement. “We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to the players affected, and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee.
“We are reviewing next steps with the IOC, Paris 2024, Canada Soccer, and FIFA.”
While it’s not immediately known whether there will be any penalty for the alleged incident, the last thing the Canadians needed at this point was a distraction. The defending Olympic champions are scheduled to begin play against New Zealand on Thursday, all while looking to regain the form that led to their triumph in Tokyo three years ago.
According to a statement by the New Zealand Olympic Committee, the drone was spotted flying over the team’s training session at Saint-Etienne and team support members immediately reported the incident to police, which led to the drone operator being detained by police.
That individual was identified as a support staff member with the Canadian women’s team. Subsequently, the NZOC formally filed a complaint over the incident with the IOC integrity unit and has asked Canada for a full review.
“The NZOC and New Zealand Football are committed to upholding the integrity and fairness of the Olympic Games and are deeply shocked and disappointed by this incident, which occurred just three days before the sides are due to face each other in their opening game of Paris 2024,” the NZOC said in a statement. “At this time, the NZOC’s main priority is to support the New Zealand women’s football athletes and wider team as they start their campaign.”
France had previously announced temporary drone use restrictions over the capital for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In general, drone operators will not be able to fly drones over Paris except for missions directly related to the Games.
This week’s incident is not the first time a Canadian soccer team has been accused of drone skullduggery prior to an international match. In 2021, Honduras halted a practice session in Toronto prior to a World Cup qualifier against the Canadian men’s team after a drone was spotted above the field. Though nothing came of the incident, which was reported by Honduran media, the two teams played to a 1-1 draw at Toronto’s BMO Field.
With files from Postmedia Olympic Team