FIFA is coming down arduous on Canada after assistant coaches for its Ladies’s Soccer staff have been discovered utilizing drones to spy on New Zealand practices forward of their opening match on Thursday.
After New Zealand complained, the organizer of Olympic soccer tournaments and World Cup video games stated on Saturday that it’ll dock six points from Canada Ladies’s Soccer and high quality the Canadian Soccer Affiliation $226,000. FIFA additionally stated it should block assistant coaches Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander, in addition to head coach Beverly Priestman, from collaborating in soccer-related exercise for a full yr. Stories didn’t say what sort of drone was utilized by the assistant coaches.
In flip, the top of Canada’s Olympic Committee, David Shoemaker, stated Canada is “exploring options to appeal” the choice. Shoemaker singled out the six-point high quality, calling it “excessively punitive in the direction of our Ladies’s Nationwide Staff gamers – who weren’t concerned in any unethical behaviour.”
Priestman has denied being conscious of the spy drones, per AP News, however said that, “no matter the small print, I’m in the end accountable.” Priestman oversaw Canada Ladies’s Soccer because it secured its first gold medal within the Tokyo Video games in 2021.
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