NZ Football speaks out after Canada penalised

By Luke Kirkness

New Zealand Football (NZF) has expressed discontent following Fifa’s decision to penalise Canada for its role in the drone spying scandal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The penalties include a six-point deduction, a fine of 200,000 Swiss francs ($383,855), and one-year bans for head coach Beverley Priestman and two assistant coaches. Fifa determined that Priestman and her assistants engaged in behaviour that violated fair play principles.

The scandal erupted when Canadian staff members were caught using a drone to film New Zealand’s training sessions last week. Despite Canada’s 2-1 victory over New Zealand in their opening match, the revelations have cast a pall over their win.

In a statement, NZF said it was good to see “swift action” taken but was frustrated by the perceived competitive edge Canada may have gained through the illicit footage.

“It is good to see swift action has been taken against Canada, with the team docked six points following the multiple drone incidents, however the issue still remains that they likely had an unfair sporting advantage gained by filming our key tactical sessions, when they played New Zealand and won by a single goal.

“It’s disappointing that New Zealand has been placed in such a position by actions of this nature, that impact the entire tournament, but now our focus is firmly on our remaining games against Colombia and France.”

Canada Soccer’s immediate response included sending home two staff members and issuing a public apology. Priestman earlier acknowledged her responsibility for the affair.

“On behalf of our entire team, 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 programme. Accordingly, to emphasise our team’s commitment to integrity, I have decided to voluntarily withdraw from coaching the match on Thursday. In the spirit of accountability, I do this with the interests of both teams in mind and to ensure everyone feels that the sportsmanship of this game is upheld.”

Football legend Christine Sinclair, the all-time Fifa leading goal scorer in international play, took to Instagram yesterday to express her pride and commitment to representing Canada while addressing the controversy head-on.

“Having contested over 300 international matches, including four Olympic Games, there was no greater honour than wearing the maple leaf and representing Canada on the world stage.

“As players, we train endlessly our whole lives for those moments. Together, we take pride in letting our play speak for itself. We battle within the touchlines with integrity, and try to meet each result with grace - win, lose, or draw.

“It’s unfortunate that the players of our national team have had to play through condemnable actions by some of their staff as they attempt to defend our gold medal. Actions players have no control over. I want to be clear that having been a national team player for 23 years, we were never shown or discussed drone footage in team or individual meetings I’ve been present for.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission