New Zealand soccer officials are asking for Canada to face punishment for their role in a spying controversy. An uncredited Canadian women’s national team member recently flew a drone over New Zealand’s practice. The issue, however, was not an isolated incident. The drone interrupted the Football Ferns’ training on two separate days.
Team New Zealand contacted French authorities and Olympic officials following the second incident. An investigation remains ongoing, but authorities quickly apprehended the drone operator. As a result, the Canadian member and an assistant coach have both been removed from the team.
Canada’s head coach, Beverly Priestman, also recently announced that she would not be on the sidelines for the upcoming matchup between the two teams. Canada faces New Zealand in their opening 2024 Olympics game on Thursday.
Despite the self-imposed suspension, New Zealand Football CEO Andrew Pragnell is calling for more regarding the situation. The executive claims to have contacted FIFA directly and asked the governing body to take “urgent action” on the matter.
“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 released 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.”
“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, 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.”
While FIFA investigates the issue, the drone operator in question has already received their punishment from French police. According to reports, authorities arrested the uncredited team Canada member earlier in the week. Authorities confiscated the drone and found video of New Zealand’s practice from two different days. Police say that the footage “would have allowed him to know the tactics of the opposing team.”
The Canadian drone operator picked up an eight-month suspended prison sentence for their actions. A suspended sentence means that the offender likely will not serve the aforementioned time in jail. Instead, it works almost like probation. If the defendant goes on to break similar laws in the near future, they could serve out their sentence behind bars. The move is typically a deterrent against future potential crimes.
Canada and New Zealand face off on Thursday, July 25 in Saint-Etienne. The matchup is likely to be contentious and will be immensely important to both sides. The two teams are in Group A alongside hosts France. FIFA currently ranks Les Bleues second in the world. They are one of the tournament’s favorites as the host. Losing Thursday’s game would put either Canada or New Zealand behind the eight-ball in the competition.
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