The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris haven’t even had an opening ceremony yet, and we’re already dealing with a potential cheating scandal.
According to a report from New Zealand media, the New Zealand women’s national soccer team caught Canada using a drone to spy on the squad’s Monday practice session in Saint-Etienne — the site of Thursday’s Group A match between the two sides.
French police have been stationed at the various practice facilities to be on the look out for drones during team sessions and spotted the drone during the Football Ferns’ session. With this Canada-New Zealand incident, a member of the Team Canada support staff was detained by police.
New Zealand women's soccer team claim they were spied on at a training session on Monday in St. Étienne by Canada Soccer via drone surveillance.
They have made an official complaint to the IOC.
Canada plays New Zeland Thursday morning 11 ET. #Paris2024https://t.co/m4VSkbwCPG— Shireen Ahmed (@_shireenahmed_) July 23, 2024
New Zealand made a formal complaint to the IOC integrity unit. And Canada didn’t deny the accusation, blaming a “non-accredited” staffer for going rogue with the drone. The Canadian Olympic Committee also issued an apology in its statement.
A statement from the Canadian Olympic Committee. #Olympics #CanWNT pic.twitter.com/uCnfy8ULJ1
— Har Journalist (@HarJournalist) July 23, 2024
Canada — the No. 8 ranked team by FIFA — would have been considered heavy favorites against 28th-ranked New Zealand. But we’ll have to see what sanctions — if any — are taken against Canada as group play opens.
