Over the weekend, a firestorm has surrounded the Canadian Soccer Association after it was discovered that two staff members used drone technology to spy on practices involving New Zealand before their Olympic opener last week.
The punishment and sanctions were swift. The two staffers were sent home. They, and women’s Olympic head coach Bev Priestman, were hit with one-year bans by FIFA, the world governing body of soccer.
And even more severe was a six-point deduction for the women’s team in Group A of the Olympics, which includes the likes of host France, New Zealand, and a Columbian team which could conceivably knock out the Leafs in the final round of pool play later this week.
I understand the need for a severe punishment in situations like this.
However, spying allegations have typically resulted in mostly monetary fines. In one racing espionage case, the McLaren Formula One team was fined $100 million for its part in what became known as “Stepneygate.” And in the NFL, Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 dollars and the New England Patriots $250,000 for their part in spying on a New York Jets’ practice.
In neither situation were sanctions imposed to alter competition results, such as taking away race wins or wins on a football gridiron.
But for the defending women’s soccer champion Canada, this is nothing short of a mortal wound. The Leafs, despite two wins in pool play, have zero points to show for it, and need to beat Colombia to have any chance of making it into the knockout rounds of the Olympic tournament.
The thing is, this punishment is so swift that it is possible that the IOC and FIFA may have missed out on a crucial detail. Published reports point to Canada having used drones to spy on practices as early as 2019,
And apparently, there was espionage taking place Canada won the 2021 Tokyo women’s gold in soccer in a famous victory.
“It was a little bit tricky during that time, given the fact that we were under a lot more restrictions, but there were ways to kind of sneak out of the hotel without people knowing,” an anonymous sport told the on-line version of Canadian sports network TSN. “In Tokyo, a lot of the facilities were a little bit more open so in some cases, you could see from behind bushes or behind fences or behind trees. It wasn’t that complicated, because they didn’t have the big mesh walls. So as long as you were close enough to the facility, you’re able to see if you’re in a hidden location.”
I’ll let you read the full text of the TSN story, but it’s devastating. I’m interested to know if further follow-up will take place. If the IOC is able to re-award medals for several years after they were first awarded, I wonder what is going to happen here with this drone scandal. It could open an enormous Pandora’s Box when it comes to alleged misdoings in the Olympics over the years, and perhaps even change Olympic history in some sports.